Imagine not being able to read these words. Or not being able to safely give medication to your sick child because you can’t read the label. How about the hopelessness and shame you might feel if your child asks for your help with homework – and you are unable to help because you can’t read or write?
Such situations are a daily reality for more than
780 million adults around the world. Improving literacy is a vital first step to overcoming the obstacles that lock them in a cycle of poverty.
In recognition of International Literacy Day – September 8 – we offer a snapshot of some of the ways Children International’s libraries and programs are helping improve literacy in the countries where we work.
Take a look
Sugey, in Barranquilla, Colombia, is the mother of sponsored 7-year-old Valeria. Sugey recently began taking reading lessons in CI’s community library.
“Not being able to read and write,” she says, “has really made my life difficult…my husband has to read everything for me, such as prescriptions and addresses.”
Sugey dreams that soon she will be able to help Valeria with her homework.
“Reading is a lot of fun,” says sponsored 8-year-old Ardel, from Tabaco, Philippines.
“But it’s a lot more fun,” he adds, “when I get to share the things I’ve read with all my friends.”
Martha, mother of Nadine and Melanie, is extremely grateful for the CI library in her Guayaquil, Ecuador, community. “My daughters and I love to read,” she says. “We come to the library on weekends and I love that we can do this!”
Many of our community center libraries have stocked bookshelves, space for meetings and tutoring classes…
…as well as computer centers.
Without our presence, residents of the poor communities we serve would not have access to such vital resources and services.
Carmen, in Barranquilla, Colombia, learned to read several years ago at the age of 57, thanks to the tutoring assistance she received at the CI library in her community.
Her daughters saved to buy her a notebook as she began to learn how to read and write. And, she adds, “They helped me with my homework, too!”
Wise beyond her years, 13-year-old Claire from Tabaco tells us, “It’s not enough to just learn the basics of reading and writing…
…I think we should learn to love reading and writing, so that we may never stop acquiring knowledge.”
