Readers of the Word and Leaders
of the World: 5 years of Balang Foundation
“How can we not lead when we read? We’ve been with Balang for 5 years”
There
are many weekends in one calendar year, but the 17-19 July was a very special
one to Balang Foundation and its bursars who converged at Bolivia Lodge,
Polokwane in Limpopo Province to celebrate 5 years of success and to receive
further induction as readers of the word and leaders of the world. Beyond the fact that Balang Foundation was ablaze with rich stories of successful mentoring of young minds, the weekend
was also a special one as it coincided with the celebration of the Mandela Day. Remembering the Mandela injunction that education should be the strongest weapon in the struggle for
liberation, Balang stressed the importance of education despite that fact that the post Apartheid phase has seen a snail's progress and inevitably left so many children in weak positions to develop literacy
and conquer their lives.
The
idea of writing as thinking was introduced to the learners who had to think
deeply about their experiences in life. Throughout this journaling exercises-
asked used as ‘catch up’ sessions, the kids became emotional as they were
‘pushed’ to confront themselves and to reflect on who they are- a tough
exercise often avoided by many. The exercise provided them with a unique
opportunity to use writing as a tool for emotional release. After an hour of
writing, the learners were given a chance to share their writings to the group (writing for an audience) after listening to model stories from the facilitators (modelling writing).
One
of the highlights of the weekend was the book receiving ceremony where a total
of 100 books (new and used) were distributed to the grateful bursars. The idea
was to cultivate a reading culture and to increase their power of leading
through reading extensively. It was expected that the learners would pick up
writing styles from established authors and that they would read and write on a
daily basis. As
in the past, the bursars were given lots of opportunities to write, in at least two languages of their choice, reflective pieces on how Balang changed their
lives over the past 5 years. Here, translingual development is encouraged.
Feedback from some of the bursars (some translations):
“I
don’t know where I would have been without Balang.”
“I
feel confident and I have learned to be resilient.”
“Balang
Foundation taught me how to manage my day.”
“It
taught me how to read my books without struggle and to read for 15 minutes
everyday.”
“That
there is no holiday in reading; for me reading is to the mind what food is to
the stomach.” (translated)
The
theme of the interdependence between the word and the world was made explicit
through an encouragement by Professor Leketi
Makalela. In particular, it was made clear that to conquer the world, and to
make sense of it and of oneself, one needs to be hungry for words, which
ultimately bring the reader closer to the world. It is in the power of multilingual words that readers are able to transform the world.
The workshop also made a special
effort to ensure that the learners understood exactly who they are. Because it
is difficult for many people to define themselves, a series of pictures were
distributed to the learners to scaffold the naming of self. At the end of the workshop, the learners received their second
bursary tranches to buy school uniform or take school-based excursion trips.
Overall, this was a stimulating workshop that pulled together the wisdom of 5
years of the Foundation Foundation and confirmed its future mission to invest in young readers and the power of words to transform lives and
conquer the world. In this connection, Balang Foundation prides itself for turning reluctant readers into leaders through reading!
Leketi Makalela
September 2015
