Tackling SAs illiteracy crisis starts at birth_* • Intervention from birth and at an ECD level is critical. • Children need access to books in mother tongue African languages, enabling them to engage with diverse material that they can relate to and identify with. *STATS:* • 3 in 5 five homes don’t have access to a single book & 65% of homes with children under 10 don’t have a single picture book • Many children finish Gr1 not knowing all the letters of the alphabet • By 2026 approximately 69% of 10-year-olds will be unable to read for meaning.