[SPONSORED] Two thousand primary schools and education non-profit organisations (NPOs) across South Africa have been named as beneficiaries of the 2026 AVBOB Road To Literacy campaign, a national mobile trolley library initiative aimed at improving access to books in under-resourced learning environments.
Announced at a Johannesburg event on Thursday, attended by Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube, this year’s rollout marks the campaign’s largest expansion to date and introduces Braille trolley libraries for the first time.
The AVBOB Road To Literacy campaign was launched in 2022 to help address South Africa’s literacy challenges by providing primary schools and education NPOs with mobile classroom libraries filled with Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS)-aligned books. The initiative focuses on the Foundation and Intermediate Phases and is designed to give learners more regular access to age-appropriate reading material that supports literacy and numeracy.
Beneficiaries must be either primary schools or education-focused NPOs, at least falling within Quintile 1 to 3 schools, and are selected through a public nomination process intended to identify communities with a clear need and commitment to improving reading outcomes.
The 2,010 trolley libraries will be distributed to recipient schools over the next few months. Each trolley contains 500 CAPS-aligned literacy books, bringing the total number of books being donated this year to 1 million. This year’s campaign represents an investment of R118 million, with each trolley valued at approximately R57,500. This doubles the previous year’s beneficiary total and makes the fifth year of the initiative its most ambitious yet.
A major development in 2026 is the introduction of Braille-inclusive trolley libraries for selected schools and organisations that support blind and partially sighted learners. Each of these trolleys contains more than 100 Braille anthologies and 350 sighted Aweh! readers from Oxford University Press Southern Africa (OUPSA). Each Braille trolley is valued at R323,900 and makes it possible for blind, partially sighted and sighted children to engage with the same stories.
Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube notes that “Partnerships with business can go a long way towards improving educational outcomes in the country, AVBOB has been an incredible partner to the education sector, and their trolley libraries are bridging the literacy gap in under-resourced schools. The inclusion of Braille books in this year’s trolley libraries will ensure that even learners with visual impairments are not left behind in the literacy journey. Access to knowledge and the joy of reading must extend to every child, regardless of their circumstances. We must work collaboratively as business, government and society to build a just and equitable education system.”
“The increasing demand for trolley libraries has been one of the clearest indicators of the initiative’s value. Schools that initially received a single trolley now request additional resources to support the momentum they see in their learners. Teachers tell us about classrooms that feel more energised, about learners who look forward to reading time, and about children who are discovering language as an avenue to curiosity and self-expression. These shifts may appear modest, but in educational terms, they represent meaningful, long-term progress. When reading begins to take root, a community begins to unlock its potential,” says Nakedi Pilane, Executive Director: Business Development and Financial Services at AVBOB.
Adding to this, Karen Simpson, Managing Director of OUPSA, notes the introduction of Braille trolleys reflects a wider need to make reading more inclusive. “The need for books that children can see themselves in, and access in ways that are meaningful to them, has never been clearer. Bringing Braille into Road To Literacy for the first time is an important step forward. It allows more learners to experience the joy of story, language and learning, while creating opportunities for shared reading across classrooms and communities.” The campaign’s new Braille element grew out of direct engagement with schools where teachers spoke about how scarce these resources remain.
From 2022 to 2026, the AVBOB Road To Literacy campaign has donated 3 983* trolley libraries and distributed approximately 2 million books, with a total investment value of R227-million, reaching just under 4,000* beneficiary schools and education NPOs. The initiative continues to grow in scale while widening the kinds of learners it can reach. With the 2026 rollout now donating Braille libraries, the initiative continues to grow in scale while widening the kinds of learners it can reach.
*Donated through Road To Literacy initiative and CSI Committee.