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Early start: In its 22 years of existence, Rally to Read has reached nearly 300,000 children. Picture: Rally to Read
Early start: In its 22 years of existence, Rally to Read has reached nearly 300,000 children. Picture: Rally to Read

As we edge into the final quarter of 2022, South Africans are starting to count down the days towards the end of what has, for many, been a difficult year — hoping, against hope, that 2023 will be better.

But there are some who know it won’t be. Nor will subsequent years. For millions of children, illiteracy means their future is over before it begins. In a country where the overwhelming majority of young people can’t get a job anyway, what hope is there for those who can’t read or write?

It doesn’t have to be that way. A single, focused sponsorship can provide a proper education and the chance of a real future for hundreds of children. A series of sponsorships spreads the benefits to thousands. All it takes is the desire to make a difference to SA’s children.

Rally to Read, in which the FM is an organising partner, provides participating rural primary schools with books, stationery and teacher training. Children who would once have been unable to progress beyond primary education can now continue to high school and even university. Since 1998, nearly 800,000 rural children have had the opportunity to break out of the cycle of illiteracy that has dominated their remote communities for generations.

Many rural schools receive almost nothing from provincial education budgets. Books, pens, pencils, desks, even running water and proper toilets — things that are taken for granted in most urban schools — are often absent.

In a country where the overwhelming majority of young people can’t get a job, what hope is there for those who can’t read or write?

The Rally to Read concept could not be simpler. Portable classroom libraries containing colourful story and textbooks inspire children to read and learn. Stationery kits containing pencils, crayons, notebooks and other essentials encourage them to draw and write. Teacher training, provided by SA’s leading education NGO, the Read Educational Trust, ensures that the materials are used properly and that teachers themselves are motivated and refreshed.

The trust also monitors reading and writing progress over the three years that each school is supported — a period that has been extended to four years in areas where education was hardest hit during Covid.

And because school shouldn’t just be about classroom work, sponsorship also provides schools with footballs, netballs, rugby balls and other sports equipment that encourages children to be active.

If you don’t believe this is a cause worth supporting, come and see for yourself. Sponsors — accompanied by work colleagues, friends or family members — are encouraged to join others in visiting schools to hand over their goods in person. They meet the children they are helping, as well as family and community members. If you support a school for the full three-year period, you will also see the children develop both educationally and in confidence.

Because many of the schools are in remote parts of SA, it’s an opportunity to see another side of your country.

Unfortunately, because of Covid, these weekend off-road trips — some over one day and others over two — were suspended in 2020 and 2021. Schools were still supported but handovers were low-key affairs.

This year organisers, led by founder and motor industry icon Brand Pretorius, began ramping up visits again, and they hope Rally to Read can return fully to its traditional format in 2023.

There have been  two rally weekends so far in 2022, in the Eastern Cape and Free State. A third, fully subscribed one will take place in the Western Cape later this month.

At present, organisers are planning up to seven rallies in 2023. A R900,000 donation by the Jonsson Foundation, Rally to Read’s lead partner, is getting the process off to a flying start. The foundation is the corporate social investment arm of the Jonsson Workwear apparel group.

A full Rally to Read sponsorship costs R39,000. About two-thirds of that buys two full classroom libraries and stationery, and the rest goes to teacher training. A half sponsorship of R19,500 buys one library and teacher training. That’s enough to keep a small, rural school — which may cater for dozens of children — going for a year. Smaller donations are also welcome.

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

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