Miss South Africa Qhawekazi Mazaleni is on a mission to ignite a lifelong love for reading, one local library at a time.
Johannesburg, South Africa (11 June 2026) – Libraries. The buildings that have stood for decades across South African communities. The buildings that hold a wealth of knowledge, housing stories with the power to captivate and inspire young minds. The buildings that open their doors to everyone. They hold the key to solving our country’s literacy crisis.
This is a belief close to the heart of Miss South Africa, Qhawekazi Mazaleni, and one she wants the world to take notice of.
To see exactly how communities utilise these vital resources, she recently paid a visit to Alexandra’s 3rd Avenue Children’s Library.
“One of the best ways to solve our country’s illiteracy is to pinpoint our communities and start with what we have. In communities filled with so much potential, our libraries hold so much unused power,” Qhawekazi said.
She herself grew up going to the library as a child, lending and returning books every Saturday, as her family couldn’t afford to buy books on a regular basis.
“The library gave us access. One of the key ways to grow a culture of reading in our county is by making it more accessible, from the beginning. That includes multilingual books and resources.”
During her visit, Qhawekazi picked out a book in isiXhosa and read it to the children present at the library. They were fully engaging with the reading material, asking and answering Qhawekazi’s questions.
“In a short session, we worked on comprehension and concentration. This is what literacy in our communities looks like, and we’re just getting started.”
The librarian also shared that she had never seen the children so interested in a book before.
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She looks forward to visiting more local libraries, hoping that by shining a spotlight on them, more children and families will be encouraged to step inside, pick up a book, and tap into a lifelong love for reading.
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Sources: Qhawekazi Mazaleni
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