Proudly South African family brand Wimpy knows that the best memories are made around the table, over a meal, or between the pages of a book during storytime. “Reading is a magical way to spend quality time together. It helps children develop a love for reading while enabling them to appreciate the art of storytelling,” says Jodi Law, Wimpy brand manager.
This National Literacy Month, Wimpy has partnered with non-profit organisation Ladles of Love, who due to severe malnutrition in small children, is tackling food insecurity in the early childhood development space, to distribute over 6 000 multilingual and multicultural children’s books to 82 under-resourced preschools across Gauteng, Northern Cape, and Western Cape.
“This collaboration is about more than just handing over reading material. By teaming up with Ladles of Love, who has been tackling food insecurity in the early childhood development space for more than a decade, Wimpy will be able to bring much-needed literacy support to schools in need,” says Law.
Together, they will visit preschools, offering literacy sessions that involve songs, storytelling, interactive activities, and word-play games. “Reading exposes children to a world beyond their communities, opening opportunities for learning and growth,” says Ladles of Love programme director Yolanda Jones. “We will nourish their bodies while Wimpy nourishes their minds to new words and experiences.”
The partnership forms part of Wimpy’s flagship Corporate Social Investment Initiative, “Read with Wimpy,” which aims to improve literacy levels at ECD level across the country by making reading material accessible. “Wimpy realises the severity of South Africa’s literacy crisis and the importance of exposing children to reading and literacy skills at an early childhood development (ECD) level,” explains Law.
Overcoming the challenges
South Africa’s reading and literacy crisis is well-documented. The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS 2021) revealed that 81% of Grade 4 learners across all languages cannot read for meaning. For educational psychologist Seago Maapola, early intervention during the first five years of a child’s life is “absolutely critical” for SA to deal with its low literacy levels.
Reading to children and providing “language-rich” early learning opportunities paves the way for their academic success, she says. “Children who struggle to read will have difficulty across all subjects when they start school. This will impact their academic performance and eventually amplify the inequalities we see in society.”
Worryingly, the 2023 National Reading Barometer revealed that nearly three in five homes don’t have access to a single fiction or non-fiction book, and 65 percent of homes with children under age 10 do not possess a single picture book. The Barometer also showed that while many South Africans do want to read, they often struggle to find suitable reading materials.
Maapola points out that literacy performance improves if children start learning to read in their home language. “When children read in their mother tongue, they’re not just learning words, they’re learning who they are.”
From Restaurant to Reading Revolution
Wimpy, as a responsible and family-focused brand, is committed to making reading materials in all 11 languages more accessible. What started in 2022 as an Wimpy children’s in-restaurant campaign has developed into a nationwide CSI initiative dedicated to improving literacy and reading, particularly at the ECD level.
“Wimpy developed a beautiful range of books together with Ethnikids – an online children’s bookstore, and local authors and illustrators, giving children access to a multicultural, multilingual African folktale collection with diverse and relatable characters and stories,” says Law.
The gift of reading
For this Literacy Month, thanks to Wimpy’s partnership with Ladles of Love, hundreds of preschool children will not only receive warm meals, they will also receive the precious gift of reading and hearing stories in their own languages.
“As a proudly South African brand, we’re dedicated to giving young readers access to relatable stories and characters they can truly connect with and understand,” concludes Law.
Also see: Turn every corner into the ultimate cosy reading nook
