Global Literacy Matters

The fight for literacy has recently seen a great deal of success in South Africa. The country’s Kha ri Gude literacy program reported that it has registered more than two million adults for basic literacy education since its inception in April of 2008. The government-sponsored campaign consists of a massive network of volunteer educators who oversee a minimum of 18 students each year. These educators are just one part of a hierarchy of local supervisors and district coordinators who report to the Department of Basic Education. Through this system, Kha ri Gude is able to not only distribute hundreds of thousands of sets of comprehensive curriculum materials, but also collect learner portfolios to measure and assess students’ skill levels upon completion of the program. The result is that more than 40,000 literacy classes take place across South Africa each year, and 80 percent of those enrolled complete the six-month program. The program’s efforts are dedicat...

In a CNN article we recently came across titled, “Educating girls like Chrissie can save a nation,” Joyce Banda, the first female president of Malawi, called for the education and empowerment of women around the world. As a child, Banda was fortunate enough that her family was able to pay her school fees and allow her to finish her education.  Her best friend Chrissie, on the other hand, could not afford that same opportunity, and while Banda now speaks on the floor of the United Nations General Assembly on behalf of her country, Chrissie lives in poverty with her many children. Failing to provide women with the necessary support they require to finish their schooling and improve their economic standing will “squander the potential of girls such as Chrissie,” as Banda put it.  She pledges to keep women’s education at the focus of her presidency as a means to reduce poverty and strengthen Malawi’s economy. “When we empower women with education and access to reprod...

A woman from ProLiteracy's partner program in Ethiopia, watering her crops. Literacy has allowed her to start and grow her own small business selling carrots. It has long been proven that mothers with higher levels of education raise healthier children, but a group of Harvard University professors and alumni set out to understand exactly why that is.   Their book, Literacy and Mothering: How Women’s Schooling Changes the Lives of the World’s Children , explores the question, “What is it about schooling that affects child survival, fertility, and the behavioral development of children?” The answer?   Literacy . Studies in Mexico, Zambia, Venezuela, and Nepal all revealed that literacy skills are what forge the link between education and children’s health.   Mothers who have more formal schooling are uniquely equipped to understand and apply public health information regarding hygiene skills.   They are also more likely to trust the advice of doctors a...