Stella Horgan

Hello there! My name is Stella Horgan and I'm raising funds to build a website to co-ordinate donations of books, educational materials and resources so that we can build libraries in South African schools.

I discovered late last year that 93% of public schools in South Africa don't have libraries AT ALL. Isn't that unbelievable - schools with no libraries?? I'm very concerned that this generation of South Africans is not getting what they need to be healthy, active, engaged citizens creating positive futures.

I was fortunate to grow up with parents who encouraged me to read and love books and learning, which has served me infinitely through my life. There is a tremendous hunger in rural areas for education and advancement - which is where a global community can join forces with motivated rural communities to transform under-resourced areas into thriving hubs of exemplary community.

So - the not for profit organisation I am registering is called Zingela Ulwazi - say it out loud with an emphasis on the Z and the Ul .... its a delicious sound and means "Hunt for Wisdom" in Zulu. With local communities, we're going to put libraries into as many schools as possible and create children's books in indigenous languages as this is another unnecessary vacuum in the literary sphere.

The website I am fundraising for is where we will co-ordinate donations from around the world, from individuals, companies and institutions, where people can donate books they believe are crucial or the greatest pleasure to read, books that educate or enhance literacy, critical thinking and enterprise skills. Each school I'll be working with will make up a wishlist which will be linked to amazon and kalahari - online book suppliers, and also other providers I hope to secure discounted product with.

In some instances we will have to construct the library building, so we'll be fundraising for bricks and mortar, plus shelving, furniture, computers and other educational resources.

The website will also be a platform to distribute and sell our indigenous language children's books, ensuring our sustainability AND validating and celebrating the local community's talent, skills and heritage.

The first library we are installing is for Ekurhuleni Orphan and Vulnerable Children Center, who I've been supporting for the last year or so. They feed 100 children at the moment and do after school activities and health and wellbeing checks, and they have 400 children on their waiting list. They want their library to serve their community, so we will be sourcing a full spectrum of brilliant and fun books to assist them. Ekurhuleni means "place of peace", and in my experience a library brings peace, that longed-for stillness from the cacophony of the world.

The budget for the website is $1,750 on a Wordpress platform, and will allow us to do use some excellent fund-raising plug-ins and co-ordinate recommendations and donations from interesting people all over the world. This includes hosting, and our online store will help ensure our sustainability.  Inkfish, a design studio in Cape Town,  has offered us a good rate - their websites are elegant and excellent so thanks to them! The fundraising amount is $1,950 to allow for donation transaction fees and for Pozible's fee.

Evidence of work in progress: We ran our first workshop with the children from Ekurhuleni Orphan Center and supportive adults from the community on 3rd and 4th May 2013 to create a children's book with a conservation theme in Xitsonga and Sesotho, the local languages. World renowned artist Andries Botha generously offered to work with the adults to create masks to dramatise a story for children ....



..... who then did their own drawings of the animals they had seen in the trip to the Kruger National Park we arranged for them a few days earlier. It was the first time they had seen wildlife, even though they live next door to a nature reserve bigger than England. This way, they are learning the value of wildlife and can claim their natural heritage, hopefully becoming custodians of South Africa's diminishing natural heritage.






I have also received the first two donations of books - an exquisite set of children's books from a Durban supporter, and an assortment of books for young readers - from my mum Gloria, who is a librarian near Pretoria and who is mobilising her community to donate books. Go mum! Three authors have pledged multiple copies of their books, and I'll be chatting to more to invite them to participate.

Four amazing women have offered to canvass libraries and publishers around the world to donate books - Bridget in London, Karen Jane in the Isle of Wight, Donalea in Melbourne, Australia and Laura in the US.

I have also had an offer of freight and customs duty sponsorship from a colleague, so we can ship as many high quality books from around the world as we can gather! I can SEE those containers being delivered !!

Evidence that I'm capable of finishing the project: I have worked as a project manager for many years, and successfully delivered, amongst other things, Production Management of Nelson Mandela's 80th birthday party for 45 000 wildly enthusiastic South Africans, the launch of the White Lion Leadership Academy in 2012 and over 30 documentaries and dramas and other events.

I'm currently mentoring a group of 16 community leaders in Acornhoek through Seeds of Light's Leadership Program, who are developing a range of exceptional projects, including community permaculture gardens, care of orphans and vulnerable children, support groups for the elderly, workshops on medicinal herbs etc.

I graduated from the School for Social Entrepreneurs in Melbourne in 2010 - a wonderful experience with a great network. I have the support of Seeds of Light, the exceptional American NPO doing excellent work in Mpumalanga, the Andries Botha Foundation, my friends and family around the world. I have many skills and deep commitment to this project, which means the world to me as it is all about the future of South Africa, my beloved country which has given me so much and which I love to give to.

So - I welcome you to this community where we HUNT FOR WISDOM, and where we share our love of books, learning, skills and information. Having this website up will mean a far greater reach around the globe to grow our community of supporters, so that people all around the world can participate through books.

Thanks for the visit!