Global Literacy Matters

David Harvey President and CEO of ProLiteracy Why have I bec ome so passionate about literacy in Colombia and, specifically, in Medellin? You won't believe what I saw. See the pictures posted here: Medelli n, through a unique partnership between the public and private sectors (each pay 50 percent of the bill), built seven "park libraries" in the lowest income neighborhoods in the city’s steep hills. Through a combined planning process that included education, transportation, cultural activities, and libraries, residents of the neighborhoods were engaged in designing for themselves the library parks and the programs they wanted to see put in place. Then, the city built a cable car system with suspended gondolas that links the libraries and steep hill neighborhoods with the city's metro system. Evaluations are ongoing, but literacy rates are up! And parent engagement and adult programs are flourishing. And the neighborhoods are being transformed as economic opportuniti...

By David Harvey President and CEO of ProLiteracy Greetings from Colombia, a country that in important ways has transformed itself from a politically violent era dominated by guerilla warfare, assassinations, and drug cartel violence. I’ve traveled through what Colombians describe as the "jewel" and "heart" of Colombia—Cartegena—to the old coastal city of Santa Marta, and on to the sophisticated, modern city in a huge valley, Medellin. I am awed by the openness, overwhelming hospitality, passion, history, and love of country that is represented by Colombians everywhere. No where have I seen such fierce pride in their city as the Colombians I got to know in Medellin. Perhaps this is because of how the city roared back after an era of terrible violence orchestrated by the infamous drug cartel baron, Pablo Escobar, killed in 1993 in an infamous raid in the Los Olivos section of Medellin. Or, more likely, it’s the unique history of the people from Medellin who pride the...

T he earliest evidence of baking comes in the form of refined wheat and barley from about 23,000 years ago. Today, a bakery in every community is the norm in the United States. However, such is not the case in the rural areas around Pitayó, Colombia, situated in an Andean valley near the Ecuadorean border. There, baking is done individually or not at all, since a visit to the nearest bakery involves quite a trek. Through support from Citi Foundation, ProLiteracy and partner organization Fundación Juan Tama have found a way to help make baked goods more readily available, increasing literacy skills along the way. Called Rincón del Sabor (Taste Corner), this bakery cooperative gives each member a 1 percent return on earnings in exchange for a one-time $100,000 COL (roughly $50 US) investment. The members then act as door-to-door salespeople, taking baskets of bread to sell in rural communities. Members also participate in cleaning the bakery and can earn the privilege of using the bake...

From Alesha Anderson, international programs coordinator at ProLiteracy: Corporacion Cooperativa (CLEBA) has been pioneering literacy in Medellin, Colombia for more than 25 years, and has been partnering with ProLiteracy for more than 20 years. I started my trip in Colombia visiting CELBA’s national office and spent the morning talking to one of their literacy instructors and some of the participants. The instructor, Dioselin, has been working with CLEBA for more than eight years. He says that in addition to reading and writing, CLEBA offers a time for dialogue where participants share stories, thoughts, and feelings they are experiencing as they pursue their ‘journey in learning’. Dioselin also shared a story about a member of the community who had been an ex-paramilitary soldier. The paramilitaries are a terrorist group that have always fought and competed with the opposing terrorist faction. When the former soldier joined the literacy class, he didn’t talk much. Nor did he lift...