FunDza was established to educate, empower and engage the young leaders and citizens of South Africa. South African teens and young adults need enhanced literacy and FunDza will meet the need through reading. The organization is committed to grow a community of young readers and writers in South Africa.
One of the short term goals of FunDza is to reach over 100,000 young South African readers by 2015. FunDza will hit the goal through its book distribution network and its mobile reading program. On top of this, by the end of 2015, FunDza would have developed over 500 young South African writers and have provided them with venues to showcase their work.
One of FunDza’s trustees, Dorothy Dyer, was a former teacher at LEAP Science and Maths Schools in Pineslands. LEAP caters to young people who have been deprived of good education. LEAP provides the tuition fees so these students can access quality education in a nurturing environment.
One of Dyer’s greatest pleasures is reading and she hoped to pass on this passion to her students. While doing this, Dyer found out that reading was not very appealing to her students. Many of them look to reading as an unwanted and intimidating chore.
While trying to find the best solution, Dyer realized that these reluctant readers get engaged when they read a new kind of book – one that is short, written in accessible English, and reflective of the students’ lives. It is important for the readers to identify themselves in the books they read.
However, only a handful of publishers produce these kinds of books. Dyer founded a new publishing company Cover2Cover Books, to print the needed books. To carry on Dyer’s social objectives to get South African young people to read, FunDza was established.
Illiteracy hampers the professional and economic potentials of South Africa. But stories provide the readers with powerful insights and an awareness of the world around them. FunDza is there to carry on the mission getting South African youths to love reading and further develop a culture of story-telling.