Literacy campaign backed by South African entrepreneur
The Evening Standard's bid to improve literacy in London primary schools has been endorsed by businesswoman Vanessa Gounden.
Speaking to the newspaper, the mining magnate and fashion designer said the Get London Reading campaign "struck a chord" when she heard about it during a recent visit to the capital.
Gounden explained how, as a poor child growing up apartheid-era South Africa, she would face an hour-long walk to a segregated municipal library to withdraw books.
"Your literacy campaign is very close to my heart," she told the publication.
"I was an avid reader – books and magazines were my window on a world beyond the township."
Gounden was one of the first people to donate to Get London Reading, which has already raised more than £150,000 to provide one-on-one literacy support for children in struggling primary schools.
The Evening Standard is working alongside the Volunteer Reading Help charity on the campaign, which was launched in early June.
