by Gwyneth Perry : Senior Librarian Weltevreden Library
The City of Johannesburg Library collaborated with the Eldorado Park-based NGO, PUSH (Persevere until something happens) in the first Mobi-Readathon presented by the City. Two stories were published on the FUNZA APP and children from various high schools, who are patrons of the PUSH NGO were encouraged by their mentors there, to read the stories and take part in the Mobi-Readathon. The books were read on their Cell phones and tablets from February, until May Finals. Approximately 40 children agreed to take part in reading online stories and answering online quiz questions. Of those 40, 20 made it through to the finals, obtaining over 90 percent pass marks from the quiz questions. The finals were held on the 27th of May at the PUSH facilities.
The finals were fun and festive with a large number of parents showing up to support their children. The finals took the form of a quiz where the children were asked questions relating to the 2 books. There was a great deal of team spirit, as the children cheered and clapped for each other whenever they got the answer right.
Johannesburg LIS staff members were involved in running and presenting the quiz, setting the quiz questions, providing prizes and snack packs, and taking part in all aspects of the Mobi-Readathon. Everyone enjoyed being a part of this exciting event, especially as it had been instrumental in encouraging the children to read. Developing a love of reading is so vital and this readathon showed them that reading can be fun, exciting, and cool!
Each participant received a certificate for taking part and monetary awards were given to the top 3 in the competition. The winners were extremely excited about playing in the competition and were very happy that their hard work paid off.
The winners were
- Tyeressha Benjamin , Won a Trophy-Certificate Designed by Wits Innovation Hub-Makerspace, a party pack and a R350 Pickn’Pay voucher for R350
- Owethu Landu, Won R250 Pickn’Pay voucher and a party pack
- Anne Williams, Won a R150 Pickn’Pay voucher and a party pack
- Prizes were sponsored by Friends of the Library
- All 50 learners who attended received food packs
We are hoping to continue with Mobi-Readathons in the future with schools throughout the city getting involved. Let’s encourage our children to read, whether it be in physical book format or on digital devices. The ability to read is a skill that takes all members of society a long way, and this is just one of the ways the City of Johannesburg Library is working to develop this skill in our younger people. The MobiReadathon concept has now been embraced by Region B libraries who have identified 5 local high schools to pilot it from July 2022 until October 2022. Watch this space for updates.