- Bringing books to children in remote areas-
Sony group donates books to the Free State Department of Education, South Africa to further stock their mobile libraries, through its partnership with SAPESI (South Africa Primary Education Support Initiative).
Sony Corporation, supporting SAPESI’s efforts to contribute in overcoming the challenges South Africa’s compulsory education system face, took the lead in the campaign. Sony companies in English-speaking countries, namely Sony UK, Sony Australia, Sony New Zealand, Sony Hong Kong, Sony Singapore, Sony Canada and Sony South Africa called upon employees to donate English children’s books.
Sony employees in the various countries donated approx. 24,000 books. In addition, Sony Corporation in Tokyo contributed funds to SAPESI in order to purchase a further 5,000 children’s books in languages indigenous to South Africa. This donation was matched by the Free State Department of Education who then bought another 5,000 books.
Sony will continue its partnership with SAPESI to support the enhancement of education opportunities in South Africa.
We all know that education is a fundamental building-block for creating better opportunities “for the next generation” – a phrase that unifies our social responsibility initiatives at Sony – which is why the Mobile Library Project is so important to us.
The Mobile Library carries much more than the approx. 24,000 books collected from our employees in seven different countries; it carries our compassion for the children of South Africa.
Howard Stringer
Chairman, CEO and President
Sony Corporation
The issue of education in South Africa remains a key theme. While initiatives carried out by the South African government have led to a primary school enrollment ratio exceeding 87%, the access to books - an indispensable tool for literacy education - is limited, and the ratio of schools possessing a library is very small.
During the nine years compulsory education received by South African children, the first three years are spent learning tin their indigenous languages. From the third year children start to learn English language, and from the fourth year almost all lessons are carried out in English. Apart from Afrikaans (derived from Dutch) and English, nine of South Africa’s 11 official languages are indigenous languages that have been handed down by word of mouth, and with only a limited quantity of materials written in these languages remaining, there are concerns that some of them may fade out. SAPESI is supporting the preservation of South Africa’s indigenous languages through its mobile library activities.
For The Next Generation
