Ep 15: Kabelo Kgatea & Lorato Trok – Building a Reading Nation, One Mother Tongue at a Time

Reading is one of the most powerful tools for education, imagination and social development. It becomes even more meaningful when it begins in a language that feels familiar and lived.

In this episode of Thekgang Talking, Kabelo Kgatea and Lorato Trok discuss the role of mother-tongue literacy in building a stronger reading culture across South Africa.

Together, they explore the importance of indigenous language publishing, the need to make books accessible to children in the languages they speak at home, and the responsibility shared by writers, publishers, educators and communities to cultivate lifelong readers.

Building a reading nation is about more than increasing the number of books available. It is about ensuring that every child has the opportunity to discover the joy of reading through the language that first shaped their world.

Thekgang Talking is a books and publishing podcast, covering topics that cut across the books and publishing ecosystem, from indigenous language writing and publishing to alternative manifestations of books such as audiobooks and graphic novels. Guests on the podcast include authors, publishers, booksellers, festival directors and literacy organisations. For more information, visit thekgang.org.za.

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