How a rural Eastern Cape village created a series of children’s books in a day
· The South African
A team of twelve writers, illustrators and designers gathered in Zithulele near the Eastern Cape’s Wild Coast and did something remarkable: they made four original children’s books in a single day.
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The event, called Amabali Ephanyazo (‘stories in a flash’), was planned and run by Axium Education. It drew creative volunteers from the local community and from across the country.
It was modelled on the Book Dash format – a 12-hour sprint in which teams produce a finished picture book from scratch – but reimagined specifically for Zithulele.
The results reflected exactly that. The four stories were multilingual, featured hand-drawn artwork, and were rooted in the world where the children who will read them actually live.
From sharks to ladybirds, travelling turtles and love, there were stories for everyone.
Missed his flight, drove across South Africa to Zithulele
Getting there was its own adventure for designer Nkosingiphile ‘Mazi’ Mazibuko.
Mazi missed his flight from Cape Town on the Friday morning before the Saturday event. Rather than pulling out, he got into his car and drove the full distance to Zithulele. He arrived at 22:00 on Friday night.
He connected the journey with that of the Magi following a star.
“In my own way, I felt called to follow a star toward the village children, toward knowledge, storytelling and a better future,” he said.
Mazi played a starring design role on the day, jogging between all four teams to assist with InDesign troubleshooting.
The event was planned and run by Axium Education. Image: SuppliedThe event was led by Sinovuyo Mcunukelwa and Ayanda Parafini of Axium Education, an organisation that runs programmes to raise student achievement in rural areas. Their mission is to unlock the untapped potential in every rural student, teacher, community and school.
For Mcunukelwa and Parafini, Amabali Ephanyazo was the culmination of a three-year vision, and one they hope to repeat.
“Amabali Ephanyazo has been three years in the making, and seeing it come to life in one day was extraordinary,” said Mcunukelwa, Axium’s Training and Coaching Manager.
“We wanted to prove that Zithulele could tell its own stories, and on Saturday, it did exactly that.”
Parafini, Axium’s Programmes Coordinator noted that despite people being under pressure, the task never felt heavy.
“It felt like play,” she said. “The joy in the room was infectious.”
A team of illustrators, writers, and designers gathered in the Eastern Cape village. Image: SuppliedWhat is Book Dash?
Book Dash has created more than 220 open-licensed storybooks, and distributed over six million books to children across South Africa.
The organisation, which has been operational since 2014, deliberately shares its methodology openly. Several entities have used Book Dash’s freely available manual to run their own versions of the event.
Zithulele’s Amabali Ephanyazo now joins that growing list.
Dorette Louw, Book Dash Director of Programmes and Operations, attended the event in Zithulele.
“It was a fantastic experience to be present at the culmination of our three-year collaboration,” Louw elaborated. “The Axium facilitators had embraced the Book Dash methodology, and the creative teams were powerhouses.”
“This is proof that communities anywhere can create books with their own stories, for the benefit of the children in their communities.”
Oral traditions in print
Book Dash Executive Director Thembalethu Shangase said it was inspiring to see local residents transform from readers into creators.
She described watching participants discover the work that goes into making a book as a powerful moment of community pride and identity.
“This is the beauty of the Book Dash model: it’s an opportunity for anyone to create stories closest to their hearts,” she added.
“I’m so curious to see how the kids in Zithulele find joy in reading when they see their own village and local creators reflected in the stories.”
The four books created in Zithulele are set to be printed and distributed locally in the coming months. Beyond improving access to reading material, the project will give children the chance to see familiar places, faces and voices reflected in stories created by members of their own community.