China Shabalala a vendor with the Denis Hurley Centre StreetLit programme reports that a repeated best seller is the Bible both in English and isiZulu versions.
In 2024 the centre issued its Mandela Challenge to collect 10 052 quality second-hand books for the Street Lit booksellers - one for every day that Madiba spent in prison. They stopped counting after 24 000 books flooded in.
This year the project has set amore specific challenge. They are asking the people of Durban to donate 1 145 Bibles during July - one for every month of Mandela's long and extraordinary life.
And yes, they always want other good quality books as well.
The Independent on Saturday is supporting the Street Lit project as our Mandela Day initiative. It is a life-changing project that allows over 20 literate homeless people to sell books at stations around Durban and all the way to Ballito to earn a modest living and to help them get back on their feet. The stories from book sellers are heart warming, from reuniting with loved ones and their children to travelling to places like Poland and Australia on literary trips.
