South Africa

South Africa is a country of great beauty, from the mountains of Cape Town, the historic Cape of Good Hope, the rainforests of Limpopo, the mountain peaks of Mpumalanga, and Kruger National Park, a magnet for tourists.

We love to be immersed in South Africa’s diverse schools and communities. Our experience with the Makuleke, a Tsonga tribe, is indelible. In 1969 they were forcibly removed from their homes by the apartheid government and their land was incorporated into Kruger National Park. While the park is known for its beauty, incredible animals, bird life and thousands of baobab trees, it cannot be forgotten that the Makuleke no longer live on their land. 

Our partners are the key to our success and it was Children in the Wilderness (CITW) who managed and taught the children from the Makuleke community, making it possible for Ducere to publish these stories and take another step in its vision to share stories from all 54 African countries over time.

There are other partners too. Monash South Africa (MSA) workedwith us in the Zandspruit Primary School, as well as schools in Gauteng, Johannesburg with Spell It South Africa bringing the South African collections of the African Children’s Stories to life.

MSA and Ducere worked together in township areas in the West Rand, aiming to improve literacy in the public school sector. Since this work began, two collections have been published – the first one written by students at Zandspruit Primary School, and the second one written by students from many schools and based on Nelson Mandela’s Legacy, which was launched just before Mandela Day in July 2016.

The students across South African are hungry for books, as they know the importance of learning and recognise the influence of their late President, their hero, Nelson Mandela, who made schooling accessible to everyone for the first time. Nasreen Ismail recognised the greatness of Mandela when she wrote:

He believed that all children deserved to get an education regardless of their skin colour.