Cecil Road Primary School in Salt River unveiled its new library, in a special ceremony on Wednesday April 24.
The new library was made possible by the Make A Living (MAL) foundation, which has chosen Cecil Road Primary School as its 14th library project since 2010, as part of their make-another-library initiative.
School principal, Shahid Mathews, says the school is excited to have opened the doors of the new library for the children to enjoy the new resource created for them.
This latest library provides over 2 000 books to the 500 children attending the school. The library is in a stand-alone unit that is on the school premises, and it is painted in multi-colours.
MAL’s chief designer Emma Strydom says the exterior panels of the library have been custom-designed to tell a story.
“It’s about designing to draw kids in, to make them feel proud by association, a space that is as inspiring on the outside as it is in the books they read,” she said.
Mike Schalit, co-founder of MAL, says they collaborated with brands and like-minded creative entrepreneurs, from artists to architects to retailers, and non-government organisations.
“As a result, we’ve managed to use the proceeds to design and build these incredible libraries in township schools across South Africa,” he says.
Many of the Cecil Road Primary School teachers are excited for how the new library will help its pupils. Nuraan Isaacs said: “Our new library is the best thing to happen to our pupils; it will take them all over the world without having to leave the room.”
Lauren Rosslind says the library will empower their pupils in new ways.
“Together we will start on a reading journey, not only for learning, but for enjoyment,” she said.
Luqmaan Mayman said: “Libraries are crucial to the development of educational skills, with their provision of physical and intellectual access to the information resources, and it’s vital for learning.”