Skip to main content

“All it takes is a spark, which becomes a flame which turns into the fire needed to bring about change.”

— ROS TOERIEN

“All it takes is a spark, which becomes a flame which turns into the fire needed to bring about change.”

— ROS TOERIEN

Our Story

Once upon a time in Durban, Kwa Zulu Natal, two friends connected with a dream – to uplift education in South Africa through the power of books and literacy. Aptly summed up in the quote ‘Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can’, The LEARN Project (Let’s Educate A Rainbow Nation) was founded by Ros Toerien and co-founder Lucy Pienaar in 2012.

Building bridges and breaking educational barriers one school library at a time is the result of a collaborative effort from our LEARN power house team, as well as volunteers, donors, schools, and companies, all committed to bringing about the change inspired by LEARN’s vision.

Our story is one that continues to unfold as each new chapter opens new doors of opportunity for learners and educators through whole school transformations, as libraries and classroom book corners are established, creating a culture of reading and a literacy-rich environment conducive to learning.

We are passionate about the work that we do and are encouraged by the positive changes we are seeing.

Who we are today

Meet the team

CEO, Founder and Trustee

Ros Toerien

Ros Toerien is a mother of three and qualified teacher. She holds a Bachelor Of Education and has a heart for children and a love for teaching.

Ros Toerien is a mother of three and qualified teacher. She holds a Bachelor Of Education and has a heart for children and a love for teaching. Ros is passionate about educating our rainbow nation and is proactively realising this dream. She lives by the motto ‘Small actions lead to big change’ and is the visionary behind the works of The LEARN Project.

Ros has been a guest speaker at a number of events and was awarded The Paul Harris, Fellows Award ‘in appreciation of tangible and significant assistance given for the furtherance of better understanding and friendly relations among peoples of the world’ by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International. She was an invited guest at the Pinetown District Department of Excellence Awards, having had the honour of handing out awards to top achievers for literacy excellence. She is the KZN Lead Provincial Support Partner on the President's Reading Champion Programme, mentoring and supporting reading champions, teachers mentors and district officials across KZN, to help create a culture of reading in government schools and improve literacy.

Co–Founder and Trustee

Lucy Pienaar

Lucy is a mother, businesswoman and sports enthusiast, having completed a number of cycling races, often to raise awareness and funds for The LEARN Project.

Lucy is a mother, businesswoman and sports enthusiast, having completed a number of cycling races, often to raise awareness and funds for The LEARN Project. She is determined to ‘be part of the change we wish to see’ and believes that at the essence of change and its positive impact is education.

Lucy has played a key role in our partnership with Umngazi River Bungalows and the Transkei rural schools we assist.

Trustee and Book Processor

Fiona Emanual

Fiona joined the LEARN team as a volunteer in 2013 and is our longest-standing volunteer to date.

Fiona joined the LEARN team as a volunteer in 2013 and is our longest-standing volunteer to date. She is a driven, efficient and highly valued member of the team who assists with everything from processing books to time given in setting up new libraries and book corners. She is now a LEARN Trustee, contributing significantly to the work that we do.
LEARN Ambassador and Librarian

Nomfundo Mthethwa

Nomfundo is a committed teacher and Librarian at Kasturba Gandhi Primary school,

Nomfundo is a committed teacher and Librarian at Kasturba Gandhi Primary school, having trained on our LEARN Librarianship course and doing us proud by winning KZN Librarian of the Year at the KZN Department Of Excellence Awards. Her school library, established by LEARN, also won KZN Library of the Year in 2017. She proudly represents The LEARN Project at literacy-related events and workshops and helps train and mentor other LEARN librarians.
LEARN Representative

Wiseman Njeke

Wiseman started as a volunteer at Ekuthuleni Primary School, assisting learners struggling to read and working in the school LEARN library.

Wiseman started as a volunteer at Ekuthuleni Primary School, assisting learners struggling to read and working in the school LEARN library. As an avid reader himself, he led the school’s reading club, offering reading sessions before school, during breaks, after school and even on Saturday mornings, leading to literacy quizzes and competitions. He now works with The LEARN Project and ensures weekly visits are made to our LEARN beneficiary schools, where he assists with reading both in the classroom and in the library – his visits are the highlight of many a learner’s day!
LEARN Representative

Lungile Blose

Lungile’s calm and composed nature is an asset to The LEARN Project.

Lungile’s calm and composed nature is an asset to The LEARN Project. She is highly motivated and efficient in her work, steadily classifying and processing thousands of LEARN books according to the Dewey Decimal System and accessioning them into registers for our LEARN Beneficiary schools. From classroom book corners to library establishments, she works effectively and efficiently, despite our often tight deadlines, ensuring that every detail is attended to in the lead up to a library launch. Lungile manages our LEARN office with a friendly smile and coordinates our LEARN volunteers and training days. She also assists with librarian training, as well as teacher and library monitor training sessions.
LEARN Representative

Nonceba Zulu

Nonceba is a dedicated member of The LEARN Project team and she works methodically through each step of the lead up to a library opening.

Nonceba is a dedicated member of The LEARN Project team and she works methodically through each step of the lead up to a library opening. From classifying books according to the Dewey Decimal System and placing spine labels on books, to assisting and guiding our LEARN volunteers with book sorting and covering, Nonceba is reliable and efficient and she is organised in her approach to tasks and office administration. She works diligently on library set up days and assists with library monitor and teacher training workshops.
LEARN Graphic Designer

Jennifer Makepeace

Jennifer has been with The LEARN Project since its inception in 2012 and was the creative mind behind our LEARN logo.

Jennifer has been with LEARN since its inception in 2012 and was the creative mind behind our LEARN logo. She shares in our vision and her meticulous approach to each and every task and project leaves a stamp of excellence that we are proud of. Our newsletters, website, course material and posters are just some examples of her beautiful work.
LEARN Illustrator

Julie Smith-Belton

Julie is a talented illustrator who designs and creates our Proudly South African LEARN illustrations for charts and posters, as well as for manuals and books.

Julie is a talented illustrator who designs and creates our Proudly South African LEARN illustrations for charts and posters, as well as for manuals and books.

“I said ‘Somebody should do something about that.’ Then I realized I am somebody”.

— LILY TOMLIN

Our Key Contributors

Thembi Biyela

The Bhambayi
Sewing Group

Library curtains, Library bags and Book corner cushions

Merle Fynn

Hombisa

Library cushions

Shan Goudin

Essentials Building

Library renovations

Caiphus Mkane

Carpenter

Book corner shelves