Book Village

📚 “It Takes a Village, So We Created One Online” 🌍💻

Meet the bright face of Lindsay, a learner who reminds us every day of the incredible impact we can make together. 🌟

🤝 At Book Village, we’re not just a platform; we’re a global community united by a shared mission - to empower young minds through the joy of reading. 📖✨

🌟 If you believe that every child deserves the right to literacy, we invite you to join our village of volunteers. Together, we can inspire, educate, and transform lives from anywhere in the world.

💪 Your time and dedication can make a world of difference. Let’s create a brighter future, one page at a time. Sign up today and be part of the change! 💙

Monica’s heartfelt testimony reflects the impact of volunteering with Book Village. 👩‍💻 Witnessing the growth and confidence of learners brought her immense joy, motivating her to go the extra mile despite time constraints. At Book Village, all of our volunteer tutors play a vital role in nurturing a love for READING and LEARNING among children.

We’re incredibly grateful for volunteers like Monica who dedicate their time and energy to making a positive impact on the lives of young learners.

Want to join Monica and make a difference? We’re always looking for passionate volunteers to help us teach children how to read online.
Head to the link in our bio to learn more and sign up today!

Thank you, Injini - Africa's EdTech Accelerator & Think Tank. We are incredibly grateful to be part of Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship Program. This experience has been invaluable in helping us acquire new skills, connections and in growing Book Village.

📚 Did you know that over 80% of Grade 4 learners in South Africa struggle to read for meaning? Sarah Bradfield and Lauren Bradfield founded Book Village to change that!

Their online platform connects kids with volunteers who guide them through structured reading sessions, helping them develop essential skills at their own pace. With over 130 volunteers and 2,000+ students already reached, Book Village is actively improving learning outcomes nationwide.

🔗 Read the blog to learn more about their inspiring work: https://www.injini.africa/post/it-takes-a-book-village-to-raise-literacy-levels

Meet Sahla, a bright young learner in Grade 3, mastering phonics with our new app feature! 😊 Here, she is enjoying learning about rhyming words and coming up with her own examples. It’s truly heartwarming to see how much she’s enjoying her online tutoring sessions and the progress she is making. Thank you to everyone who is helping Sahla further develop her reading abilities! ♥️

Do you have 30 minutes in your day to help a child like Sahla in their reading journey? 🌟 If so, go to the link in our bio and sign up to be a volunteer tutor. We’d love to have you as part of our awesome community!

An alarming statistic contributing to the reading crisis in South Africa:

According to the 2023 Background Report for the 2030 Reading Panel, a staggering 60% of children don’t know all the letters of the alphabet by the end of Grade 1. Even more concerning, by Grade 2, this number only drops slightly to around 30%.

Why is this so concerning?

Perpetual Catch-Up: Children who struggle with letter recognition are often “perpetually behind and in ‘catch-up’ mode.” This makes it incredibly difficult for them to keep up with their peers and develop essential reading skills.

Impact on Future Learning: A strong foundation in phonics is crucial for developing reading fluency and comprehension. Children who struggle with letter knowledge may face ongoing challenges in school, impacting their overall academic performance.

What can we do?

At Book Village, we’re committed to combating this issue with our new phonics feature on our tutoring app! By helping children master their phonics, we’re empowering them to build a strong foundation for reading success.

Let’s work together to ensure that every child in South Africa has the opportunity to learn to read and reach their full potential!

Introducing our new phonics feature! 📚🚀

According to the 2023 Background report for the 2030 Reading Panel, a concerning 60% of children in South Africa have not learned most of the letters of the alphabet by the end of Grade 1. This alarming statistic highlights the urgent need to address foundational literacy skills.

We’ve noticed that many of the children we work with face similar challenges due to difficulties with pre-reading skills and phonics. That’s why we’ve created this new phonics feature to help learners develop a strong foundation and overcome these hurdles. By mastering phonics, children can improve their reading fluency, comprehension, and overall confidence.

We believe that this new tool will be a game-changer in helping children achieve their full reading potential. Let’s join forces to address the reading crisis and ensure that every child has the opportunity to become a confident and successful reader. Together, we can make a difference by getting more people involved and helping children learn to read on the Book Village app.

Share this post, visit www.bookvillage.co.za , and get involved! 📖

Shoutout to our amazing team of developers at .io for helping us create this exciting new feature!🎉

Watch Waadiyah shine as she embarks on her reading journey with Book Village! ✨📚

It’s been a pleasure welcoming Protea Primary to our Book Village family. We’re already impressed by the reading progress students are making using our online tutoring app. With your help, we can’t wait to watch Waadiyah’s confidence and skills soar!

Be part of the solution and help our children learn to read 🫶 visit the link in our bio to find out more and join our awesome community.

This powerful quote by Kofi Annan perfectly captures the importance of literacy. The ability to read opens doors and unlocks limitless possibilities.

At Book Village, we believe that reading is a human right. However, many children struggle to learn to read due to overcrowded classrooms and a lack of resources. 😔

That’s where YOU come in! Our online platform connects dedicated volunteers with students in need, providing personalised reading support and a curated reading series by .

Together, we can bridge the literacy gap and empower young minds. Become a volunteer tutor today and be a part of their journey to hope and success. ➡️ www.bookvillage.co.za

Children should learn to read in schools, but in overcrowded classrooms with limited resources and overworked teachers, it’s often impossible for them to get the individual attention they need. This is especially true in low-income communities, where the reading crisis is most severe.

We believe that literacy is a human right, not a privilege. Every child, regardless of their background, deserves the opportunity to unlock their full potential through reading. 📚

At Book Village, we’re committed to making literacy accessible to all. By connecting dedicated volunteers with children from low-income schools and a curated reading series online, we’re helping to break down the barriers that prevent these young learners from reaching their goals.

Join us in our mission to ensure that every child has the opportunity to learn to read and build a brighter future.🫶

📚 Join the fight against the reading crisis! 📚

This September, let’s celebrate literacy and make a difference in the lives of young learners. Book Village is dedicated to providing personalized online tutoring to children in need of reading support.

Become an online volunteer tutor and help children unlock their full potential. Together, we can create a brighter future for South Africa’s youth. 🇿🇦🫶

Click on the link in our bio and find out more!

Today we’re celebrating the power of giving - and what better way to give back than to help children in low-income communities learn to read.

Here’s where you can make a difference!

Donate: A donation of just R1600 can provide a child with one year of access to our online tutoring platform where they receive the one-on-one support they need to learn how to read.

Sponsor a School: Partner with us to implement our reading program in a low-income school! Invest in the future and help us achieve our goal of ensuring every child in South Africa learns how to read.

Every contribution, big or small, has the power to change a child’s life.

Click the link in bio to learn more and get involved!

This Women’s Month we celebrate our amazing facilitators! Their dedication and hard work make our reading program a success. Thank you for ensuring everything runs smoothly at the schools, and for supporting our online tutors❤️

Paula captures exactly what we have tried our best to achieve in the app, simplicity and ease😃 when designing our reading platform, we wanted to ensure it would be easy for both our students and tutors to navigate. Our amazing team at .io have made this happen and we couldn’t be happier with how our reading app has turned out.

Thank you for your kind words, all of the hours you have spent reading with our children, and all of the work you have put into Book Village including the many training sessions you have given. We appreciate and value you!❤️

We’ve made volunteering and helping others simple, easy, efficient and measurable on our app. If you don’t believe us, why don’t you have a go and help teach a child to read🤗

That look when the tutor asks a question that makes you think twice! 🧠 But we’re here to help and support you every step of the way in your reading journey. Keep thinking, keep learning!

Thank you to all of our volunteers who support and challenge our learners everyday❤️

If you want to get involved in helping our children learn to read, click on the link in our bio and become a volunteer🤗

Last month we celebrated Mandela Month and giving back to the community. Thank you to all of our awesome tutors who donated their time to helping our children learn to read - 932 reading sessions were given to 450 very happy children throughout the month! 🤩

Let’s keep up the amazing work and continue making a difference in our children’s lives❤️🤵‍♂️

Sarah’s reading is coming along nicely and she loves connecting with her online tutors🥰

Are you able to give 20 minutes of your time (online) and help Sarah with her reading?

Become an online tutor and help children learn to read during your coffee breaks🤗 go to the link in our bio and sign up to become a volunteer tutor today.

How else to donate your 67 minutes this Mandela Day than helping a child learn to read online?😍

Give back today by doing 3 sessions on our reading app and you will change 3 lives, enabling these children to improve their reading skills and their futures🙌

Our learners are online from 08:00 - 14:00 (SAST) and eager to read with their tutors🥰 we hope to see you online too!

Sometimes we like to enjoy some books from our library while we wait our turn to connect to a tutor on the app 📚