Getting books into schools is an important first step — but it is only the beginning. A shelf of donated titles does not guarantee a generation of readers and instant community change, especially when reading must compete with the appeal and instant gratification of entertainment media.
Next Chapter Jozi, however, shows a keen understanding of this. The Founder, Jenovic Lumu, explains how he and his team's work at this student-led literacy and STEM initiative encapsulates far more than just delivering books. Their approach considers what it takes to sustain a love for reading as well as the role learners and schools play in developing the support offered to them — Lumu tells us how in Part Two of this Q&A.
While accessibility is a contributing factor to South Africa's literacy crisis, access to books alone doesn't guarantee that students will read. Given this, how does Next Chapter Jozi go about creating a lasting culture of reading among young people, especially when reading competes with the instant gratification of entertainment media?
We have begun supervised reading activities at Berea Primary alongside our book work. That matters because a collection only becomes useful when learners can actually reach the books and have opportunities to use them. Our aim is to make reading feel social, welcoming and connected to their lives.
I do not think we can build a reading culture simply by telling children that books are better than their phones. Entertainment offers choice, excitement and conversation; reading needs room for those things too.
I want our sessions to encourage learners to choose what interests them, talk about what they have read and ask questions without feeling embarrassed about what they do not understand.
We are still building that approach. A lasting culture will depend on repeated opportunities to read and on what schools can sustain between visits. A successful book drive is a beginning — the habit has to grow afterwards.
It can be easy to approach any social issue with an idea of what the problem is and what the solution should look like. How does Next Chapter Jozi make space for learners and schools to influence your understanding of what they really need?
The school conversation needs to begin before the programme is finalised. With Berea Primary, our team spoke with the school, shared a preview of the STEM booklet and proposed different approaches for younger and older learners. We explicitly invited feedback on the materials and session structure, with the aim of adjusting them to the school's needs.
That is the kind of relationship I want us to build. We should ask which books are useful, which learners need support and how an activity fits around what teachers are already doing. Learners also need room to tell us what interests them and what they find confusing. Their questions and choices should help shape the next session.
We are still developing how consistently we capture that feedback. I would rather be honest about that than suggest we already have a formal learner-led evaluation system.
Listening only matters if we are willing to change what we do.
What would you consider evidence that Next Chapter Jozi is making a meaningful difference? Are there specific changes in learners, schools or reading culture that you want to be able to measure over time?
I would look for change in how learners use the opportunities available to them. Are they choosing books for themselves, returning to reading and becoming more comfortable explaining what they have understood? In STEM, can they describe what they tested and why they changed their design? For schools, are the resources useful and accessible after our visit is over?
We can already point to concrete activity. Our August media records reported around 2 500 books mobilised through school and community drives, including 600 donated to Barnato Park High School. Those figures describe resources mobilised and delivered; they do not establish an improvement in literacy.
Over time, I would like us to work with schools on simple measures of repeat participation, book use, reading confidence and comprehension, alongside teacher and learner feedback.
We should compare progress over time and be careful about what we attribute to our work. The evidence should help us improve the programme as well as explain its value.
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