Meet Zeno Jacobs

My name is Zeno Jacobs and I am a matric pupil at Beaulieu College in Kyalami, Gauteng.  As part of the President’s Award Gold level I was required to do five days of consecutive community service, and so my week at Woodlands Primary School began.  Working in the library, I read stories with the children, drew pictures, played games, and held a workshop on basic art and drama skills with the after-school tutoring group.  It was an amazing and truly humbling experience, which allowed me to see that even in a community suffering under the strains of drugs, gang-violence and poverty, there is hope.  Through reading, these children are provided with an escape from the difficulties they face in day-to-day life, and relish in the opportunity to discover the power of imagination.  It is wonderful to see that their interest in reading is vast, and seems to be continuously growing with the help of the staff and volunteers here, particularly Jennifer, their beloved librarian.  My time working with GCU and the Woodlands library has touched me deeply, and I hope to return in the future.  I urge everyone to lend a hand and help this invaluable project in any way they can.  We take a lot for granted in our lives and reading is something that is in short supply. However, through GCU and the Woodlands Library we can help keep literature alive in this community that so desperately longs for, and needs it.

By Zeno Jacobs
GCU volunteer













GCU would like to thank Zeno for all his hard work this week it has truely been a pleasure to have him. He has been a huge hit with all the students and they are all sad to see him go but we hope he can return next year and visit us again. We wish him all the best in his award and matric!

The GCU team