David Livingstone High School- Port Elizabeth

Transcript of the feedback received from Mary Cherry, a teacher at Livingstone High School in Port Elizabeth:

“We are really, really, really grateful and appreciate the books you've sent for us. We are a high school with technical occupational learners. The grade 8s and 9s, even up to grade 11s, enjoy the junior books so much because they skipped that phase. I don't think they had an opportunity in their lives to read books during the time when they were ten, eleven or twelve years old.

Our school is situated in the northern area of Port Elizabeth, which has the highest crime rate. When the learners get out of school they have to go home immediately – there's no going to the library. And some of the neighbourhoods don't even have libraries because they have been vandalised by criminals. We don't have a library at school at the moment, but our learners really enjoy coming to school now and having the opportunity to read some books.

We are in mobile classrooms on our rugby field because the Department of Education have been renovating our school for the past six years. The job was supposed to have been completed in two years, but we are still sitting on the rugby field in the mobile classrooms.

Thanks for asking about our school and for showing interest. We really appreciate it.”

Thank you to the Union of Jewish Women in Port Elizabeth for distributing books to Livingstone High School and thank you to Lauren for transcribing the message.

February 2024