World Read Aloud Month, celebrated annually in February, shines a spotlight on the power of stories shared between children, teachers and families. At The Love Trust’s Nokuphila School, the spotlight burns all year long.
For Grace Maina, the school librarian and IT support, literacy is not confined to decoding words on a page. It is the foundation on which confidence, curiosity and academic success are built.
“First and foremost, it promotes language and cognitive development,” Grace explains. “When learners are exposed early to stories and conversations, they build vocabulary, listening skills, memory, and the ability to understand. These skills later help with problem-solving and critical thinking across all subjects, not just language.”
Her words capture what global research continues to affirm: early literacy shapes more than reading ability. It sharpens critical thinking, nurtures empathy and lays the groundwork for school readiness. At Nokuphila, this understanding informs every story time and reading activity.
Grace Maina, school librarian and IT support at Nokuphila School.
A gentle beginning
A learner’s first encounter with the library at Nokuphila is warm and welcoming. In their early years, the space is introduced as an exciting place of discovery. There are picture books, songs and shared storytelling sessions. Learners learn how to handle a book with care, and most importantly, how to enjoy a story.
The emphasis is on building a positive emotional connection to books. Stories become associated with comfort, belonging and imagination – a safe escape.
As learners grow, so too does their relationship with the library. They begin choosing books independently, exploring different genres and borrowing books responsibly. They start to use reading as a tool for learning across subjects. What starts as wonder gradually becomes ownership.
What is the Gap, and Who Qualifies?
Fundraiser at The Love Trust, Mmatsie Motimele, explains that its current ‘Close The Gap’ campaign refers to multiple gaps, including the income gap and education gaps.
“The children we serve come from the most vulnerable households, where access to quality education, food and basic resources is not guaranteed. By making private-quality education accessible to these learners, we are closing the income, education and opportunity gaps that would otherwise define their futures.”
Guided by the belief that lasting change begins with education, Motimele says they work closely with welfare organisations to identify and support beneficiary learners and their families.
As an entirely donor-funded institution, The Nokuphila School offers a high-quality curriculum comparable to that of a privately funded school. With a strong focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths), including coding and robotics, as well as enriching cultural programmes such as recorder lessons, the school helps bridge the digital and opportunity divide.
The Love Trust has the difficult task of selecting learners in Thembisa and surrounding areas, with enrolment prioritised for families earning under R4,000 per month, many of whom rely on social grants as their primary income.
Literacy for every learner
In many South African communities, learners arrive at school with vastly different levels of exposure to books and language. Nokuphila’s reading programme is designed with this reality in mind.
Learners are supported according to their ability rather than guided by their age or grade alone. Teachers use ongoing observation to meet each child at their level. Songs, rhymes and storytelling assist formal reading instruction, ensuring that literacy development is dynamic and accessible.
Language diversity is seen as a positive asset. Families are encouraged at home to tell stories and to talk about pictures in books, even if they feel unsure about their own reading ability. Parents are reminded that conversation, curiosity and consistency matter more than perfect pronunciation.
Reading as celebration
From May to October, reading takes centre stage through the Phendulani Literary Quiz, an annual multi-school competition. Learners are given twelve books to read over six months. Teachers and library staff guide them, track their progress and encourage meaningful discussion about the stories.
Having won consistently since 2019, Nokuphila’s certificates are proudly displayed in their library, telling a story of sustained achievement. But the deeper impact lies in the confidence its learners have gained.
For many learners, it is the first time their reading effort is publicly recognised. They begin to see themselves not simply as students completing a task, but as readers. The competition creates a sense of shared purpose: reading matters.
Building quiet confidence
Perhaps the most moving moments, Grace reflects, are the quiet ones. A child choosing to sit with a book during their free time. A learner asking for another story to take home. A previously hesitant reader volunteering to participate in class.
Those shifts signal more than academic progress. They reflect a growing belief in one’s own ability. “Those moments make it clear that reading doesn’t just change academic results, but it changes how children see themselves and what they believe is possible.”
In the context of World Read Aloud Month, her words resonate. Reading aloud is not only about improving fluency. It is about connection. It is about creating spaces where children feel heard, capable and inspired, and at Nokuphila, stories are not extras to the timetable. They are threads that weave confidence, competence and hope into every day.
And in a country striving to turn the page on low literacy rates, that may be one of the most important stories of all.