Our Celebrating Partners Project aims to recognise and highlight the work that is done by our implementing partners. We look at how book-sharing has benefited them as an organisation and their beneficiaries. Today we celebrate our partnership with Denis Goldberg House of Hope.
Denis Goldberg was one of the Rivonia Trialists. In 1964, he was sentenced to life in prison alongside Nelson Mandela. “Denis Goldberg House of Hope was set up as the realisation of the dream of Denis Goldberg,” explains Debbie, the manager of the Denis Goldberg House of Hope. “He wanted to give something back to the children and youth of Hout Bay.”
What is Denis Goldberg House of Hope?
Debbie goes on to explain that, “The Dennis Goldberg House of Hope is an arts and culture education centre in Hout Bay, Cape Town. It provides access to art, dance, music and other activities for children and youth.” The House of Hope’s work places an emphasis on the Imizamo Yethu and Hangberg communities.. “We include children from the valley, which is the richer area, but our focus is on the two more disadvantaged areas. One of our principles is to have both communities involved in any activity. One of the beliefs is that art and culture and having fun is a way of building social cohesion.”
Why book-sharing?
Denis Goldberg House of Hope works in partnership with other organisations. “The idea is that we will provide the activities, but we won’t duplicate what others are doing. Instead, facilitate their offering…We heard about [Mikhulu Trust] and heard very wonderful things about them. We knew that [Mikhulu Trust] provided very solid training and support afterwards. We were also pleased that this was an activity that targeted the youngest kids. Denis had a great belief in the importance and the enjoyment that reading can have, so it fitted in with his interest as well.”
Lavinia is the programme coordinator and book-sharing facilitator for Denis Goldberg House of Hope. Through facilitating the programme, she has seen how much parents and caregivers have enjoyed the programme. “All the parents who have participated with us thoroughly enjoyed it and were sad when it came to an end. They all enjoyed interacting with their children and the other parents. And enjoyed seeing the change in their children and in their relationship with them. I personally know the material and the approach is good because I’ve implemented it with my own son.”
Benefits of book-sharing in Hout Bay’s communities
Lavinia says that “book-sharing has an important role to play in all communities. Book-sharing offers an opportunity for caregivers to spend fun, learning one-on-one time with their child, everyday. As the weeks go on the children develop love for – and derive so much pleasure from – the books and the time spent. It’s very important for family bonds and enhancing learning in school.” Puseletso, Mikhulu’s programme manager, is looking forward to training more facilitators from the Denis Goldberg House of Hope to implement the book-sharing programme with parents and children from Hout Bay.
