Time for Rally To Read to hit the (off)road again

Rally To Read, the rural education programme now in its 25th year, is back in full force. After two Covid-bedevilled years that prevented sponsors from meeting the children and families they support, organisers are preparing to return the programme to its pre-pandemic status.

Co-founder and steering committee chair Brand Pretorius says there could be up to seven weekend rallies in 2023, including, for the first time, one in Gauteng.

Since 1998, Rally To Read has helped hundreds of remote primary schools overcome the privations imposed on them by cash-strapped provincial education authorities. By providing books, pens, paper and all the other essentials for education, plus teacher training, the programme has given hundreds of thousands of children the opportunity to enjoy proper schooling.

The average reading age of a rural 14-year-old – at the age when they are due to progress to high school – is seven, rendering them unable to continue their education. Rally To Read schools bridge that gap. Many pupils progress to high school and increasing numbers of them go to university.

Support for schools includes portable classroom libraries containing dozens of reading books for classroom and private reading practice. What makes Rally To Read unique is that sponsors deliver libraries and other teaching materials in person. Each school is supported for at least three years, allowing sponsors to see for themselves the children’s progress.

These visits are through one- and two-day weekend trips to deserving schools.  Vehicle convoys, led by offroad specialists, take sponsors to corners of SA most people never see. The welcome from children, parents and community members is often overwhelming. Sponsors are encouraged to take colleagues and family, including children, with them.

Unfortunately, Covid has rendered these visits impossible since early 2020, though Rally To Read partners, including the Read Educational Trust, have continued to provide schools with teacher training and books, but without fanfare.

Two small rallies early this year, in Eastern Cape and Free State, allowed limited interaction between sponsors and learners, and it will be a similar case next month in the Western Cape.  From 2023, however, Pretorius hopes it will once again be full steam ahead in these three provinces, as well as in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. Rallies are likely to start as early as February.

In some cases, provinces could host more than one rally. Unable to attend school because of Covid, and without the technology required to learn online, many rural children have effectively lost two years’ education. As a result, some schools will be supported for a fourth year by Rally To Read, while new sets of schools will be added to the programme.

Rally To Read sponsors are from across the spectrum, from foreign government agencies to SA corporations and private individuals. A full sponsorship costs R39,000. About two-thirds of that buys two full classroom libraries; the rest goes to teacher training. A half-sponsorship of R19,500 can also change the future for hundreds of children, as can smaller donations.

Rally To Read’s long-time lead partner, the Jonsson Foundation – the corporate social responsibility arm of the Jonsson Workwear apparel group – has already donated R900,000 towards this year’s programme.

To learn more about Rally To Read, or to become a sponsor and see which weekend adventure is closest to you, visit www.rallytoread.co.za