Lumkile's Book Joint SA

Board chair Jane Letouneau was able to meet Lumkile Mzukwa on a recent visit to Gugulethu. We wanted to share a short profile that Lumkile wrote to share more about his community project happening in one of the townships outside of Cape Town, South Africa.

THE EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY OF PASSION 

Lumkile's Book Joint has become the light, the pride, and the inspiration of positive things that are happening in our neighborhood.

Lumkile's Book Joint SA is the brainchild of Lumkile Mzukwa, born and bred in Gugulethu. It is 29 years of love of books, which he collected over this period, and still going.

The journey of collecting books started on the 28th of May 1991, when Lumkile bought his first book called 'THE BLACK RESISTANCE TO APARTHEID at CNA in Claremont. He could barely read English then, but since the title had ‘Black’ and ‘Apartheid’, words he was familiar with, he thought it was worth a read. This was the start of his search for knowledge and bringing himself to the lifestyle of reading.

His love of books is imbued by his quest for general knowledge, which is explained by his eclectic collection of books: Philosophy, Business, Economics, History, Classic Novels, African Literature, South African Literature, Science, Psychology, Biographies, Memoirs, Greek and Roman Literature, and more.

It is a passion of mine to read, to understand the world better. But more importantly, sharing my own private library with the community is the most fulfilling thing I have ever done. 

In 2014, Lumkile decided that he wanted to share his books, and to set up a model that would be the epicenter for the culture of reading in his neighborhood and beyond. He was aware that the life in his neighborhood and that of Blacks in general is not centered in the culture of reading, hence the establishment of Lumkile's Book Joint SA.

Lumkile says the Book Joint's secondary objective is that of being a platform for Community Development, Conversations, Arts and Culture, and to showcase the many capabilities, including entrepreneurship and innovation, in his neighborhood. He wants to see the Book Joint being solutions driven in all the challenges that are plaguing his neighborhood, and Blacks in general.

Lumkile's Book Joint SA is both historic and critical, and it is one of the first of its kind in South Africa.

Lumkile wants to see the Book Joint expand to all communities, and ensure that the Book Joint becomes a key aspirant space for knowledge, for community development and for a change of outlook in our neighborhoods. Lumkile cannot wait to see Lumkile's Book Joint SA set up far and wide in our country's disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Hope to see you in the near future.

Lumkile Mzukwa 

Founder, Lumkile's Book Joint SA