How to get South Sudan into books?
Avid readers in South Sudan have the odds stacked against them. Most read books borrowed from friends, or get their hands on one of the few copies sold by street vendors. Occasional English-language books are available in government institutions and there is a small group of bookshops that instead sell school books rather than novels or non-fiction.
A roadside bookshop on the streets of Juba, October 27.
Some are seeking to remedy this shortage. Awak Bior, founder of the Leaves Bookshop in Juba, is trying to boost access to good books. Reading culture in South Sudan is poor due to lack of access to books as well as a lack of role models that encourage others to read,” said Awak.
Her statement was underscored by the fact that more foreigners than locals perused the shelves of her shop. She said she was prompted to open the store seven months ago, tired of lugging piles of books into South Sudan when she traveled.
Awak, whose Leaves Bookshop stocks new and used books, said the government should establish good schools where children can access books.
The country’s poor track record in training the next generation of readers is shown by the country’s illiteracy rate, among the worst in the world. Statistics from the Ministry of General Education and Instruction show that 27 percent of men and 19 percent of women can read.
Author Philip Winter at the launch of his book ‘A sacred Cause’ in Juba, October 27.
At a recent book signing at Leaves Bookshop, Philip Winter launched his book ‘A sacred Cause’ about the 2000-2003 Inter-Congolese Dialogue.
Winter, once Chief of Staff for Botswana’s former President Sir Ketumile Masire underlined the importance of promoting a reading culture as a tool for education and expanding people’s world views. He called on the government to make more books available through establishing public libraries in the country.
Writers are at the brunt of the limitations of the country’s book industry. David Lukani, a poet, faces a lack of funding.
Germany’s Ambassador to South Sudan Peter Felten picks his choice at the Leaves Bookshop in Juba, October 27.
My idea was to have my work published as a book but I don’t have funds to do that. I am only using radio to share with the people what I have written,” he said.
Lukani says provisions in the Transitional Constitution advocating for development and promotion of local languages in the country should be enforced.
With support from religious organisations, the church in South Sudan has produced scriptures and hymns books in native languages like Bari, Dinka, Nuer, Zande and others.
Aside from that exception, most books are solely published in English.
