Waterfront Rotarians David Catling and Matt Mercer organised an impromptu visit to Raymaniyeh Primary School above the Cape Town city and in the area known as District Six. They were joined by the co-author "Octavia Goes Out in Asia" Dr Sarah Riordan.
We were fortunate to be able to present to a grade 5 class, and leave behind several donated copies.
The Octavia series are edutainment childrens books which revolve around an "exploratious" ostrich Octavia and her sidekicks who travel around the world on their way to international sporting tournaments.
Rahmaniyeh Primary is housed on a small piece of ground and a double storey brick building which looks as if it were built 50 years ago, and then maintained on a little budget. The school has no grass to play on, and because it is situated on the outer ring of Cape Town it is in an area of some decay. the schools has been forced to put large bars on the classroom windows to prevent vagrants or thieves breaking in.
Many of the school children who come here need to travel for more than an hour each way, many of their parents cannot afford basic neccessities, let alone school fees. It would seem unthinkable that a library is not a priority for these schools but sadly as with many poorer schools a library is a luxury they simple cannot afford.
Despite having to overcome these obstacles (or maybe because of them) the school is blessed with a devoted staff of teachers and the children are exceptionally well disciplined.
Rotary Waterfront are building a relationship with the school, which started with the implementation of a pilot scheme called Growing Tennis, spearheaded by Rotarian Michelle Whitehead. Michelle has identified several pressing needs for the school and in particular RWC has been helping with the implementation of a library.
Octavia Goes out in Asia focuses on the countries represented at the ICC Cricket World Cup in India. The books are specifically designed for primary school children by educational specialists and include an interactive story line, with loads of information about the countries playing cricket and the game of cricket. Some of the information is so in depth that even adults will learn facts they never knew about cricket.
There are many other schools in Cape Town that would love to get a copy of the book. If you would like to sponsor one for a child contact Matt Mercer +27 83 299 11 33 email houtbay2010@gmail.com
