Chronicle Editor
Yvonne Ncube, Chronicle Reporter
BULAWAYO youths have come up with an initiative to establish a library in Cowdray Park to promote a reading culture among residents.
The initiative commenced at the end of last year after the realisation that there are a lot of areas in the city that do not have libraries and, therefore, residents have no access to books.
Minireads is an organisation founded and led by 10 high school and university students based in Bulawayo who create mini-libraries without subscriptions.
Cowdray Park residents who have read books from the mini-library praised the initiative.
“I love reading but I rarely get books. Minireads has helped me by bringing them to my doorstep,” said Mrs Lingani Mzila.
Residents said Minireads deserved support as it could rekindle the culture of reading that was dying because the new generation appeared to prefer watching movies.
“All the knowledge in the world is contained in books and without reading, the new generation is slowly becoming a dull lot. Such initiatives should be supported through donations and cooperation in keeping reading material intact,” said Mr Jacob Ncube.
Minireads president Mr Mzimkhulu Mbele (21) said they embarked on the initiative upon realisation that only those with disposable income can afford to purchase books as the average Zimbabwean simply cannot afford to buy a novel now and again.
“The Minireads team made the discovery that the majority of Zimbabweans simply cannot afford library subscriptions. Upon this realisation we, therefore, embarked on this initiative which has been well received by the public, which has donated in terms of books and funds. Our long-term objective is expanding to the rest of the country because this is not just a Bulawayo problem, but a nationwide problem and it’s time we fixed it.
“Our first Minireads mini-library was opened this year in Cowdray Park and has been so well received by the local residents, more so by the ones that reside near our distribution centre, Nehemiah Project, which is the location for our mini-library. As our mission is not only to promote a reading culture, but to create one as well, we sometimes visit people in their homes and encourage them to come to our library and get books, and the response, in all candour, has been positive. The books offered cater for all age groups, tastes, and preferences — from novels (both fiction and non-fiction) to children’s books as well as textbooks. No genre or subject is being left out. Books are donated to us, and we buy some ourselves whenever we are able to,” said Mr Mbele.
Mr Mbele said readers are given a week to finish reading the books.
“We are passionate about what we are doing, we are avid readers, we love seeing people read, and we enjoy serving our communities. We believe in the power of books to change lives, and ultimately the world. Our next targeted location is Gwabalanda, which, too, does not have a library. The nearest library is the Luveve Public Library which we feel is way too far for Gwabalanda residents. No one should ever have to walk for over an hour just to get to a library. That is not right, that has to change and that is part of the reason why we’re doing this.
“One of our greatest challenges thus far has been financially as we are entirely reliant on public donations. We therefore, seek assistance from the public in this area. I do believe that if we had a sponsor or sponsors our objectives would be easier to meet, therefore we do hope that people will see and feel the importance of this initiative and assist us. Also, through the networks we have built we sometimes receive books from South Africa that need to be transported to Bulawayo, but we sometimes lack the funds to do so. Lastly, we are pleading with the public to donate any books that they may have. Should anyone wish to contact us, they can do so on 077 940 7117 or via email at [email protected] . We are also on twitter, the handle is @minireadsZW,” said Mr Mbele.-@SeehYvonne
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