Global Literacy Matters

April 22 is Earth Day! This year, the Earth Day theme is "A Billion Acts of Green," a campaign to generate a billion acts of environmental service and advocacy. In honor of Earth Day, ProLiteracy is sharing a few stories about innovative projects our partners are doing around the world to integrate literacy with preserving the environment. Mexico - PLAMAC and AYUDA MUTUA Solar ovens, medicinal herb gardens, and cactus greenhouses are just a few of the projects that Mexican learners have undertaken to help their communities celebrate and preserve their land. In the community of Ajuno (near Patzcuaro), learners have cultivated a garden with native species of flowers and herbs. Doña Salud, who oversees the garden, can name all the plants and explain their household, medicinal, and aesthetic uses. In the arid desert outside of Dolores Hidalgo, learners in La Cuenca del Guzano have installed a simple greenhouse that accommodates rows of Prickly Pear cactus, one of the few plants...

International Literacy Day Mexico Proyectos Laubach de Alfabetización en Mexico, Asociación Civil, PLAMAC This woman-focused educational organization works in economically and socially marginalized communities that receive few public services, particularly in the realm of education. All of the communities have women’s savings clubs, in which women individually save small amounts of money in a communal chest or savings box. Literacy instruction is based in part on the weekly meetings of women coming together to deposit money into the savings box and includes record-keeping and numeric skills. Over time, the women begin to develop business plans for the use of the savings; income-generating projects include livestock cooperatives, bakeries, and small stores. By donating to ProLiteracy right now, you will help these women receive the tools necessary to learn and prosper such as notebooks to better keep track of funds and literacy materials to encourage safe and smart investing. Our goal i...