The P-Word: Shining a light on literacy in South Africa

Literacy plays a vital role in transforming society and building better futures for the upcoming generations.

Loot.co.za and MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet are focusing on literacy as a necessary tool to uplift and educate learners who need it most.

On the P-Word this week, host Rushka Lee Pedro speaks to National Manager Sales and Partnerships at MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet, Terri-Ann Schmidt, as well as CEO at Loot.co.za, Yazeed Evans.

Loot.co.za and MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet have been in partnership since 2016, giving back with each transaction made possible with the MySchool Card.

Schmidt said it has been a fruitful partnership for the past seven years.

“How it works is that Loot has agreed to a percentage to give back every time a MySchool cardholder shops online at Loot. Then MySchool ensures that those funds are given back to the communities or to the organizations that the individual supports on their MySchool cards," she said.

Schmidt said they believe in the philosophy that giving back and doing good is good business.

With the already wide variety of books available on Loot, Evans said they are looking to provide more resources, books and funding to tackle the issue of illiteracy in the country.

“What the future holds for us is to hone in on illiteracy in particular. We've got a huge variety of books. We are looking to have more rich content within our website to actually give everything from students to parents to schools, a lot more resources and a lot more content to combat illiteracy,” he said.

Schmidt said the MySchool card has a number of early childhood development centers and other NGOs that specialise in improving literacy that are registered beneficiaries on the program.

“I think the most challenging part of once you've got your MySchool card is to decide who you're going to support as a beneficiary. There are over 8000 beneficiaries registered on the program. You can have up to three beneficiaries on your card,” she said.

* This article was published first by Magic 828. See original article here. This podcast is proudly sponsored by Loot.co.za.