SmileFM Interview: Owning a book can change a child’s life

On SmileFM, Kwanda Ndoda, Project Lead of Umncedi at DGMT, spoke about the importance of book ownership in boosting early childhood development. He explained how the pilot programme with Book Dash is putting a book into the hands of every child at participating ECD centres — often the very first books children will own. By enabling story sharing at home, even through wordless picture books for parents with low literacy, the initiative strengthens responsive parenting and lays the foundation for literacy. Ndoda called for a national “book fund” to make affordable, high-quality children’s books more widely available, emphasising that every child deserves to grow up surrounded by stories. Listen below.