ProLiteracy Helps Learners Write Love Letters in Colombia
Pueblorico is a small town about three hours from Medellin nestled in the heart of the Colombia’s mountains. Its name—translated as “plentiful town”—comes from its lucrative mines...and its coffee. Its high mountain location is an ideal climate for cultivating coffee, and many people rely on the coffee farms for employment. Because employment is dictated by the harvest, there is usually only steady work for four months out of the year—from October to January. ProLiteracy has been supporting literacy and micro enterprise projects in Pueblorico for more than 10 years. Alesha Anderson, international programs coordinator at ProLiteracy, visited Pueblorico in January. She visited an literacy class with 18 participants of all different ages—middle-aged and elderly men and women, young boys and girls and teenagers. “Many of the learners expressed their gratitude for the literacy classes and shared how their improved literacy skills are benefitting their families,” says Anderson. “Two couples ...