Thamie Mzamane from The Village Circle, Johannesburg

Thamie Mzamane from The Village Circle distributed ABCA books to spaza shops as part of the Book @ the Corner Initiative in East Rand, Johannesburg, Thamie sent us a detailed impact report.

Spaza shops are small, informal retail shops found in South African townships. They sell basic groceries and household goods to the local community and play an important role in the informal economy.

Thamie Mzamane is creating community libraries attached to these spaza shops through the Books@theCorner initiative. This makes it easier for children in the community to access books and read regularly. This approach also helps improve business for the spaza shops.

Thamie also distributed books to Gugu Mngune’s Daycare and After School Care Centre in Katlehong. Gugu sent us this thank you video:

Gugu also runs a spaza shop, Guzto’s Shop and Kitchen, which she will reopen and stock with books when she is in better health.

We are looking forward to receiving more feedback from Thamie in the future.