Cape Town Mom Thrives With Reading Club by Encouraging Kids in Township to Love Literature and the Arts

• A loving mom in Khayelitsha in Cape Town is wonderfully passionate about encouraging young kids from her township in Makhaza to become confident readers
• Kholosa Potwana, or ‘Kholi’, as she is fondly known, started a reading club in 2018 after noticing a need for it in her community
• Talking to Briefly News, the loving parent explained why she is so passionate about getting kids in her neighbourhood off the streets

A kind mother in Khayelitsha in Cape Town is working hard to ensure the young kids in her neighbourhood develop a passion for reading.

Kholosa Potwana, fondly known as ‘Kholi’, is a multitalented woman who also teaches the beautiful IsiXhosa language to non-native speakers to aid engagement between cultures.

Talking to Briefly News, the lovely lady notes that she started her reading club, called Bathande Children's Reading Club, in 2018:

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“At the time, I only had two sets of isiXhosa classes per week and had time on my hands, which could be put to good use.”

“As a mom, I have always had a great love for children, and when I noticed the kids playing in Makhaza, I knew I wanted to do something for them to get them off the streets and doing something productive and enriching.”

Opening up about the purpose of the reading club, Kholi said:

“We strive to provide comfortable and safe environments for learners to engage with their community and educational opportunities outside of the classroom through reading materials.”

The loving mom’s reading club builds confident kids

Kholi notes that she also wanted to involve her children in the process, especially with her young son, who was around seven years old, struggling at school:

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“I noticed how much he struggled at school and I knew being part of a reading group would help him.

“I also wanted to spend more time with my children by reading to them before bed.”

Kholi appealed for book donations and started engagements with local libraries to get the ball rolling on her passion project.

In August 2018, the reading club was born, and although Kholi had only two books in her home, she was on a mission to develop and inspire confidence in the young people she encountered and shape them into life-long learners, leaders, and readers:

“I would host kids between the ages of around nine and 12 on Saturdays. With the younger ones, I focused on developing good listening skills in them, and helping them become enthusiastic readers.

“With the older kids, I wanted them to develop the confidence to read aloud in front of others.”

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The Cape Town woman wanted the kids to have library cards

Kholi said that one of the purposes of the reading club was to ensure that the children she worked with registered at the library to obtain cards to borrow books that could be enjoyed by the group.

The mom intends to register her reading club as a non-profit company because of the empowering role the initiative has played in the community:

“In 2018, before I obtained work, I also didn’t do much and the reading club kept me sane and gave me purpose."

In addition to the communitarian aspect of Kholi’s work, she also loves exposing kids from her township to other clubs by having fun and educational outings with the children.

Kholi is a truly inspiring woman and a great example of how helping others can be a wonderful form of self-care and self-love.

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In a related story by Briefly News, a kind community activist from Lotus River in Cape Town provides aid to the needy, despite being unemployed herself.

Beryl Williams feeds the downtrodden in local informal settlements and donates shoes and clothes to needy kiddies.

Source: Briefly News