Addressing SA’s child literacy crisis: Daily Maverick and Gift of the Givers launch 5th annual MavericKids Activity Book

More than eight out of every 10 Grade 4s in South Africa can’t read for meaning. By Grade 6, 70% are still struggling. This means that generations of children are being locked out of opportunity before they even reach high school. 

The consequences stretch far beyond classrooms – it’s about what’s lost when children can’t read. 

Not only is it an economic crisis costing the country an estimated R119-billion annually in lost productivity and social costs, but soaring child illiteracy rates mean a loss of: 

• Critical thinking skills;
• Healthy brain development;
• Social cohesion; and
• Workplace competitiveness.

If children can’t read, they can’t dream beyond their circumstances. And when millions of children can’t dream, a nation stalls.

The flip side? We know that change is possible. 

Five years ago, Daily Maverick partnered with Gift of the Givers to launch the first MavericKids Activity Book – a 240-page annual compiled with the best inserts from the award-winning DM168 newspaper’s children’s section. An initiative that has seen real progress and change among children in underserved communities. 

MavericKids Annual Vol 4 received overwhelmingly positive feedback, including reports of increased pupil engagement and improved literacy skills, says Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, founder of Gift of the Givers.

The nongovernmental organisation says previously disinterested schoolchildren in the Eastern Cape now eagerly await each book drop and show notable vocabulary growth. Similarly, many native Afrikaans-speaking students in the Northern Cape found the English content helped bridge language barriers. 

A practical fix: MavericKids Activity Book Volume 5 

We’re incredibly proud to announce the release of this project’s fifth edition, now available for pre-order from the Daily Maverick Shop. 

The model is simple but powerful. For every book purchased, Gift of the Givers donates a second copy (with a stationery pack) to a South African child in need. 

“Rural communities in most localities don’t have libraries. Learners in these areas don’t have the same opportunities and are substantially disadvantaged compared to children in more built-up areas,” says Gift of the Givers founder Dr Imtiaz Sooliman. 

Almost 10,000 books have reached young readers in underserved communities so far. This year, Daily Maverick is setting its most ambitious target yet: donate 10,000 books in a single year.

“Along comes the Daily Maverick educational book […] it serves as a source of huge joy and motivation to children who have a thirst for knowledge and learning, but have neither connectivity nor any alternative book of information,” says Dr Sooliman. 

What’s inside this year’s edition? 

MavericKids Activity Book: Volume 5 is designed to spark curiosity and make learning fun:

• Money for kids: cryptocurrency, budgeting and investing;
• Travelling the world: from Japan and New Zealand, to Madagascar and Mozambique;
• The human body: how our skin, lungs and brain work – and why we sleep;
• Animals: turtle rescues, counting lions and giraffes for conservation, and how dolphins communicate; and
• Culture and celebration: Diwali, Halloween and the winter solstice explained.

How to be part of the change: 

• Buy one, give one: Every copy purchased donates another to a child in need;
• No kids in your life? We’ll donate both copies on your behalf. Just let us know in the “notes” section of your order.

Organisations interested in sponsoring bulk copies as part of their education and literacy CSR initiatives can contact ingrid@dailymaverick.co.za for details.

The MavericKids Activity Book Volume 5 is available from the Daily Maverick Shop for R295. Maverick Insider members enjoy a 10% discount and free delivery in South Africa. 

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