When you meet Edith Fezeka Khuzwayo for the first time, you would immediately hear and see her love for libraries and her community
Edith has been working as a librarian in different libraries in the City of Joburg for over two decades and she has been tackling each day with fervour and spark. She often goes beyond the call of duty in communities through the programmes offered by the City’s libraries.
Edith grew up in Sterkspruit, Eastern Cape, and after matriculating immediately made her way to Johannesburg to look for opportunities. Her career in the City’s libraries started as an intern. When her contract ended, her manager at the time pushed for her to be retained, and shortly after, in 2003, she was appointed general worker at Rhodes Park Library.
Edith was eager to learn and involved herself in library programmes to upskill and educate herself.“My love for the library was just growing every day,” she says.
A milestone in her career was when she obtained her degree in librarianship from Unisa in 2007. The following year, she became a permanent librarian. In 2012, she obtained her Honours degree in Library Information Science.
In 2012, she was appointed librarian in charge at Murray Park Library, and she changed the library around. She steered impactful programmes in the community like a homework help desk, a soul buddy’s club, holiday programmes and the senior citizens digital literacy programme, to name a few.
Through the homework help desk programme, children received assistance with their schoolwork, and the programme received remarkable results. Some learners even started excelling in school.Edith was also part of the Nalibali Group, which encourages reading among children.
Her brainchild was the digital literacy programme for senior citizens at Murray Park Library. What started out as an opportunity for senior citizens to learn more about digital literacy became an opportunity for them to express themselves through writing and led to the publication of a book with a compilation of senior citizen stories, named COJ Senior Citizens Write.
The staff at the library kept the gogos occupied at the library for hours. Later, Edith considered the gogos as her mothers. Among the gogos, she is described as humble, strict, loving, and a person who helps to empower others.As a stellar librarian, she was a Librarian of the Year finalist in 2017.
For her, the awards and accolades do not come close to the satisfaction of impacting people’s lives positively.“I love changing people’s lives and I love helping communities,” she says with a smile. When she is not at work, she enjoys spending time with her family and is an avid reader. She prefers nonfiction and motivational books.
