10-YEAR-OLD AUTHOR IS THE RECIPIENT OF CELL C’S ACTS OF KINDNESS CAMPAIGN
Soweto school receives 1000 copies of children’s book

Soweto, 30 January: Buhle Mthethwa has an impressive track record – she’s a published author on a mission to instil a culture of reading in this country, and for this she’s been featured in a Top 10 South African heroes list and is up for an award from the Premier of Gauteng. What is truly remarkable is that she’s only 10-years-old.

And now, thanks to Cell C’s ongoing Acts of Kindness campaign, 1000 copies of her first book The Big Fat Naughty Cat were distributed today to learners in Grades 1 to 4 at Thabaneng Lower Primary School in Orlando West, Soweto, at a function attended by Miss South Africa Adé van Heerden and the author herself.

For Mthethwa – a Grade 5 learner from Mooifontein Primary School, Birchacres in Kempton Park – it is a dream come true: “I love reading and I want to share my passion with other children and encourage them to read and write from an early age.”

Buhle developed an enthusiasm for reading in Grade 1.  When she realised that some of her friends could not read properly, she starting helping them after school, using books from the library while also running a book club for youngsters, aged between four and 14, from her family home.

The Big Fat Naughty Cat was launched last year in Johannesburg with launches planned soon in both Cape Town and Durban.

It tells the story of a young girl called Lira, her family and a cat that is ugly, dirty and always hungry. Lira picks up the cat, takes it home and cleans it. It is welcomed into the family home with love. But Lira and her family are disappointed when the animal does not appreciate their kindness. The foreword to the book is written by her school principal Jorrie Jordaan.

Brand South Africa has profiled the young author and she featured in the Top 10 South African Heroes in a feature run in The Star in November last year. She has been nominated for the Girl Child Awards, taking place in March, by the Premier of Gauteng David Makhura.

As part of its monthly Acts of Kindness, Cell C Head Office donated money for the print costs of the 1000 books which were distributed at the Soweto school by Van Heerden who expressed her delight at Buhle’s talent and called her an “inspiration and role model for the youth”, Cell C and employee volunteers and young Buhle.

Says Suzette van der Merwe, Managing Executive Corporate Social Investment at Cell C: “We were incredibly impressed by Buhle’s achievements and her desire to promote reading and the love of books in disadvantaged schools. Cell C was delighted to contribute towards the print run of another 1000 copies of her book and help with its distribution.”

Issued by Nine Squared Communications of behalf of Cell C.