67 Minutes of Reading.
A Lifetime of Imagination.
Join our Mandela Day 67 Minutes school outreach on Friday 24 & 31 July 2026, when corporates, schools, universities, faith-based organisations and volunteers spend 67 minutes reading to learners at schools across the Cape Flats. Sponsor 67 reading sessions per school at just R50 per learner (R3,350 per school).
School Outreach
Fri 24 July 2026
School Outreach
Fri 31 July 2026
67 Minutes School Outreach Dates
Friday, 24 July & Friday, 31 July 2026
Corporates, foundations, faith-based organisations, companies, schools, universities, community groups and volunteers are invited to participate in literacy outreach programmes by reading to learners for 67 minutes. Participants may choose whichever date suits them best.
Why this matters
Our dream: 67 learners at every Cape Flats school.
Our heart is set on reaching 67 learners in every school on the Cape Flats with a dedicated reading and storytelling moment — children who are struggling with reading, who have walked through trauma, or who have never had someone sit down and read a story just for them.
If 10 or 20 schools take part, that's 670 to 1,340 children who experience a story this Mandela Day. Simple. Impactful. Built on good governance and rooted in community.
Kezlei Foundation operates independently and collaborates with partners such as Zeitz MOCAA and the BMW Centre for Art Education.
Choose how you'd like to show up
Whether you can come in person, send a team, or contribute behind the scenes — every pledge brings a story closer to a child.
Come and read
Send a Reader
Send a representative or a team from your company, radio station or restaurant to read aloud to a class on the Cape Flats. We'll pair you with a school.
Sponsor a school
Bless 67 Learners
Sponsor 67 reading sessions — one for each of 67 learners — at just R50 per learner (R3,350 per school). The school selects the children who need it most.
Books to keep
Gift a Storybook
Bless a child with a storybook of their own — 67 minutes of reading, and a book they take home and keep forever.
We're calling on Cape Town to read.
We're challenging corporates, media houses, radio stations and the hospitality industry to send their staff to come and read for our children. If you can't come in person, sponsor the session — and we'll mobilise students to read in your name.
- Corporates & business teams
- Radio stations & media houses
- Hospitality industry & restaurants
- Community groups & faith organisations
- Schools & university student bodies
From pledge to story, in four steps
- 01
Pledge
Email or call us with how you'd like to take part — read, sponsor, or both.
- 02
We pair you
We match you with a Cape Flats school and confirm the date, class and logistics.
- 03
67 minutes
On your chosen Friday — 24 or 31 July at a school — you (or our trained storytellers in your name) read to the children.
- 04
A story to keep
Where sponsored, each learner takes home a storybook of their own.
70% of South African Foundation Phase Learners Cannot Read At Grade Level
Recent education reports have highlighted that approximately 70% of Grade 1–3 learners in South Africa are unable to read at grade level in their home language.
This literacy crisis reinforces the importance of Kezlei Foundation's mission to improve reading, comprehension, storytelling and literacy development among children in underserved communities across Cape Town and South Africa.
Read More on the PIRLS Findings →Talk to us about literacy & school outreach
Primary contact for our literacy programmes, school outreach, storytelling sessions, Mandela Day activities and educational partnerships:
education@kezleifoundation.orgEmails sent here are linked to the Kezlei Foundation communications structure.
Pick a Friday & pledge your 67 minutes
Choose the date(s) that work best for you. We'll match you with one of our 10 Cape Flats schools and confirm logistics by email.
Prefer to contribute financially? Every rand helps us put a storybook into a child's hands. Contribute here →