Funda Mzantsi promotes a culture of reading among offenders
Deputy Minister of Correctional Services Mr. Thabang Makwetla has again called upon inmates to improve their literacy, vocation and education.
The call was made earlier today (6 October) at the official opening of the three-day 5th Funda Mzantsi Championship in George in the Western Cape. Funda Mzantsi is a partnership between the Department of Correctional Services and the Department of Arts and Culture. One of the key focus areas of this initiative is to establish book clubs in schools, communities and correctional centres in order to inculcate a culture of book reading, targeting youth.
The Deputy Minister of Arts and Culture gMs. Rejoice Mabudafhasi, as well as the CEO of the National Library of South Africa Professor Rocky Ralebipi-Simela, were also amongst those who addressed the event.
Delivering his address, Deputy Minister Makwetla said: “It is an established fact that, collectively, offenders are among the least educated members of society. Research also shows that there is an inverse relation between knowledge, culture and crime. In other words, the greater the knowledge, culture and access to education, the less the crime. I want to encourage our offenders to improve their literacy, vocation and education levels while in our facilities. Doing so will increase your chances of successful reintegration upon release.
They must join the Book Reading Clubs. Offenders must appreciate that books are their best, loyal companions. In prison, books became Malcom X’s ‘alma mater’. He remarks that he could ‘spend the rest of his life reading, just satisfying his curiosity’. For him, ‘once you learn to read, you will be forever free’. Indeed, it is books which teach us to be greater than our suffering and that it is important to dream again.
“Both the National Book Week, and Funda Mzantsi campaign, is in line with our Department’s efforts of inculcating a culture of reading, book review and formation of book clubs, which are anchored in the programme “Reading for Redemption” which we launched on the 17th of September 2012 at St. Alban’s Correctional Centre. While we celebrated the National Book Week under the theme ‘Going Places,’ this year’s Funda Mzantsi Championship is celebrated under the theme of ‘Developing Creative Minds: Celebrating 20 Years of Democracy: Tell your story that moves South Africa Forward’.
This appropriate, and captivating, theme reminds one of Winston Churchill who proclaimed: ‘History will be kind to me for I intend to write it’. Or, as an old African proverb puts it, ‘until the lion tells his side of the story, the tale of the hunt will always glorify the hunter’.
“Our Reading for Redemption Programme, and the numerous Book Clubs at Correctional Centres, is aimed at projecting reading as a fun activity which expands horizons of knowledge for both offenders and Correctional Officials. According to the South African Book Development Council and the DAC, statistics reveal that only 14% of the South African population are active book readers and a mere 5% of parents read to their children. Similar to the National Book Week, the Funda Mzantsi Championships are an important initiative in encouraging offenders, and society, to value reading as a fun, and pleasurable, activity.
As a department, we are also encouraging offenders to reflect on their experiences and to write down their stories. Last year, offenders published a collection of poetry under the title ‘Unchained’. This year, in the North West, with the financial assistance from the provincial Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, offenders published a collection of short stories in the book ‘Ga ke dumele’ and dramas in the collection ‘Ke Sa Me,’” Deputy Minister Makwetla said.
Enquiries:
Manelisi Wolela
Deputy Commissioner: Communications
Cell: 076 062 2180
