LANXESS South Africa is the proud sponsor of the Rally to Read in the KwaZulu Natal province. Rally to Read allows LANXESS to assist rural schools with educational material for a three year cycle before moving to the next set of schools.

Within the three year period, LANXESS receives feedback on the progress of literacy levels during each rally or as and when they deem necessary by interacting with learners, teachers and parents. Participating schools have witnessed improved reading skills and pass rates amongst their learners.

Fabeni and Cecilia Primary Schools in the Weenen area of the Kwazulu - Natal North province are the 2011-2012 recipients of educational material and funding of a teacher development programme.

The schools, which are situated in remote rural areas of the province, are presented with box libraries and stationery as part of the educational material sponsored by LANXESS. The material, together with the teacher development programme, is provided through the READ Educational Trust. READ specialises in improving the quality of teaching, literacy and communication skills and provides reading materials to disadvantaged schools in South Africa.

The reading material and teacher training programme are carefully chosen and designed in a way that both learners and teachers can identify with. They have a South African and African context to them, which makes them more effective. The material has significantly increased the reading abilities of the children that are exposed to them and also boosted the confidence of the teachers that use it.


Aaccording to READ Foundation, in South Africa, rural learners lag behind by up to seven years in literacy levels compared to their urban counterparts. Only 12 percent of learners that enroll for first grade in rural school actually go as far as their final year of high school.

“These statistics are a clear indication that effective intervention and support is required from the corporate world working in conjunction with relevant authorities. Working with knowledgeable partners such as READ assists in ensuring that appropriate assistance is given to South Africa’s rural schools in order to improve literacy levels.

Organisers of the Rally, READ, Financial Mail and McCarthy together with sponsors such as LANXESS have visited the most remote and needy schools in rural areas in most of the country’s provinces to deliver books, teaching aids, science kits, sports equipment, educational toys and other material.