Virtual Book Drive
The political history of South Africa has impacted negatively on the quality of literacy and education in general in the country. South Africa has been undergoing many radical changes in education since the introduction of democracy. Since 1994 the government in South Africa has used various means to improve literacy levels using literacy and reading campaigns. However, the literacy level among learners is still low. The classroom library is typically the resource that supports children’s daily independent reading of self-selected books. This collection of print materials and media is used by the students to conduct research and complete projects that are a part of their classroom instruction.
In February 2008, The Dr. Bettye Bouey Yates Educational Foundation built the first library for Christianenburg Primary School. The library has served as a resource for independent reading for students as well as the community. Prior to 2008, our students did not have access to a school library. Unless students can read fluently, understanding what they read becomes difficult. Children who read substantial amounts of text improve their reading fluency and, therefore, their reading performance.
Your donations to our virtual book drives helps to ensure that our students have the books they need for their school libraries.
- $30 provides 2 hard cover books for 1 classroom library
- $80 provides 5 hard cover books for 1 classroom library
- $400 provides 1, 25-book classroom library for a K – 5th Grade classroom
- $650 provides 1, 40-book classroom library for a 6th – 8th Grade classroom
School Supply Drive
Most children in the United States enthusiastically begin the school year with a new backpack filled with school supplies. Hundreds of students who attend schools outside Durban, South Africa will enter their classrooms each day without these basic items.
Could you imagine starting your first day of school without even a pencil?
– Host a Supply Drive
During our first visit to Christianenburg Primary School outside Durban, South Africa we observed students writing their lessons outside in the sand. We later discovered that students routinely worked outside because there were not enough pencils to go around. By hosting a supply drive at your school, place of work, or church, you and your colleagues will be making a difference in the lives of students in need by giving them the opportunity to begin the school year with their own backpacks filled with supplies. Your donations will help us keep the shelves stocked in our schools so that students can have access to free school supplies all year.
– Virtual Supply Drive
Not able to host a drive? Support our Virtual Supply Drive. All monetary donations will go toward keeping the shelves stocked in our schools, in order to provide free school supplies to students in need all year.
To find out more about the current need, Contact:
Diana Haines Walton
Email: bbyatesfoundation@gmail.com