Ntombi Buthelezi (27) has always had a childhood dream of starting a book club. In January 2020, it became a reality with the help of co-founder Mpho Nkole, who shares her love for reading. The two instantly clicked when they met in 2019, and their journey with Clique Book Club SA started shortly after.
Ntombi is an intern at the City’s Emergency Management Service: Public Information and Education Relations. She is an avid reader and is at her happiest with a book in her hand.
“I’ve always been a bookworm and wanted to get people to read and make it fun again. It was also about changing the narrative that black people don’t read.”
Her all-time favourite book is Steve Biko’s, I write what I like. “You are what you read. If all you read about is slay queens, that’s what you’ll manifest in your life. That’s the beauty of reading, you choose who you want to become.”
Growing up in Orlando West, Soweto, she received books and bookshop vouchers as birthday gifts every year. That’s how the reading bug bit her, and her mother never stopped teaching her the importance of visits to the library and learning a new word every day. Ntombi obtained a political science degree from the University of Johannesburg. She also has a love for writing. As a student, she was invited to parliament and attended the budget speech after writing the winning article for the Independent Electoral Commission.
There are currently 10 members part of the Clique Book Club who meet once a month to discuss the book they’ve read that month. Meetings usually take place at restaurants.
Since its launch two years ago, Clique Book Club SA has established itself as a platform for bringing women together and giving back to the community. “The goal was to create a platform where women could come together and support each other. It became my sanity. I had the opportunity to have sisters outside of my family. A group of people aligned with what they want to become. We have the same vision and are goal-oriented. It’s a space where women are reminded of their potential. Women’s empowerment is the main goal,” says Ntombi.
The book club is all about impacting lives in a positive way, Ntombi says. That’s why they also focus on doing good in the community through charity work. A future goal of the book club is to start a mobile library. “Some children haven’t even been to libraries.”
Ntombi is a firm believer that the foundation phase in a child’s life is crucial, making it imperative to expose children to reading at a young age. She is excited to see the book club enrich more lives.
The book club accepts donations of clothes and canned food for its charity outreaches. Clique Book Club SA is available on Facebook: Clique Bookclub SA and Instagram: @clique_bookclub.
Written by Brümilda Swartbooi
28/10/2022