News and media coverage
The Lebone Centre Is Changing How the Story Ends
Right to Read welcomes the Lebone Centre, supporting early literacy in Makhanda so more children can read for meaning and find joy in reading.
12 February 2026
The Lebone Centre is a non-profit organisation located in Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape. Originally established by Kingswood College in 2005, Lebone means “light” in Sesotho, and the Centre lives up to the name by working to provide educational support to children and families in marginalised communities.
The Lebone Centre operates a “pipeline of support” for children aged 0-9 years who are moving from early childhood development into primary school, with the goal of building strong foundations for later learning. Their on-site programmes include an ECD Centre of Excellence for children aged 4-5 and they also run off-site programmes at schools, in homes and in local clinics in the Makhanda area.
A key focus is on language and literacy development, especially reading and writing, in contexts where children may be underserved, resources are limited, and the difference between their home language and the language of instruction at school may present challenges.
Why their work matters
Makhanda, like so much of South Africa, is situated in an area of high unemployment. Many children face socio-economic challenges that affect their educational outcomes. Literacy (especially early grade literacy) is a key gateway: if children don’t learn to read for meaning early, their subsequent learning is compromised. Organisations like the Lebone Centre are critical to bridging that gap and have helped thousands of children over the years.
By providing support early and by focusing on literacy, they align strongly with the mission of the Right to Read Campaign and the push for effective early grade interventions. They are instrumental in ensuring that children have access to plenty of literacy materials both in their classrooms and homes.
In June 2025, Lebone hosted a campaign “activation” for Right to Read, bringing together teachers, ECD practitioners and community members in Makhanda to explore what effective regulatory frameworks and literacy supports could look like on the ground.
The Right to Read campaign advocates for regulations that create binding obligations in relation to testing, teacher support, text and time to ensure reading for meaning becomes a reality for all children. The Lebone Centre is a valued supporter of the campaign. They have the background and experience to understand what makes learning to read for meaning a challenge, and good practical ideas about how to solve the problem. They are a leader in making sure children have access to rich and varied texts to help them on their literacy journey.
“A child’s literacy development relies on an ecosystem of support from all the role players in their lives – home, school and community – and we owe it to them to learn not just the skill of reading but to discover the joy of reading” – Cathy Gush, Literacy Projects Manager, Lebone Centre.
Share this:
Who is the Right to Read campaign?
The Right to Read Campaign is a broad-based alliance of civil society and education organisations advocating for the right to read. The Right to Read Campaign aims to make early-grade literacy a national priority through legislative reform and the development of binding regulations for the first four grades. The campaign is calling for literacy to be regulated and prioritised nationally. We are drafting and will submit Regulations for Minimum Uniform Norms and Standards for Foundation Phase Literacy to the Minister of Basic Education.