Students read their residences to victory

According to the World Literacy Foundation (WLF) illiteracy has major social and economic consequences on a person’s life. The inability to read can be directly linked to poverty, unemployment, social exclusion, and crime and it is furthermore estimated that 796 million people in the world are illiterate, whilst many more struggle to read to a satisfactory level.  

If one breaks down the statistics even further the reality is that one in every five adults lack the necessary reading skills. With this shocking realisation in mind, the Vaal Triangle Campus Library recently embarked on its first-ever read-a-thon and judging by the overwhelming interest by the student community, this initiative is set to become an annual event. According to Mrs Hendra Pretorius, Library Manager, the aim of the event was to re-introduce students to the joy of reading – especially for the purpose of relaxation and enjoyment. The read-a-thon coincided with National Library Week that took place from 17-24 March.
 

Some of the team members of the winning team of the read-a-thon.

The challenge was set to the eight residences on campus to see who would wear the crown as first-class readers and the rules of engagement were clear: teams consisted of 15 team members who had to take turns reading aloud. The South African bestseller, “Spud” (written by John van de Ruit) was chosen as the featured read and this tongue-in-cheek look at South Africa during the early 1980’s set the scene for a fun-filled 24hours in the library.
 

The Vaal Triangle Campus Vice-rector, Prof Linda du Plessis congradulating Mr Lungile Masango (Santrust Prim)  the winning residence.

The reading commenced at 17:00 on the 23rd of March and saw the last page being turned at 06:00 on the 24th of March. To make sure that the reading process was one of concentration and attentiveness a comprehension test decided the winning residence and the spoils went to Santrust, one of the off-campus residences.
 

Published by Sipho Msolo