Global Literacy Matters

Reflections from Tina Spencer: India We finished our first day of training with around 40 participants which include practitioners, supervisors and coordinators of the Potali project. The event began with a ritual lighting of the lamp of learning. Introductions were made by Bhimrao. Flowers were presented. The new chairman of BHT, our financial and programmatic partner, welcomed the group to their training center and encouraged us in our work with families and small children. Miriam gave the overview of the three days and then we launched into our first session focusing on the Practices that Make Us Strong. Many practitioners are using the techniques. Several parents on the site visits told us how they are using and valuing them. Today each practitioner received a set of blue activity cards describing these practices in Marathi (the local language). We learned on the site visits that parents and practitioners are hungry for more printed materials in the lo...

Reflections from Maryanna Doan - India We have been in India a week now. It is a land of contrasts. Orange and purple blossoms and jagged mountain peaks, sit next to land covered with refuse. Woman here look like exotic butterflies in many colors of bright clothing walking on streets full of traffic. The sounds are a cacophony of horns honking, loud music, and construction. The air is a mix of thick smog and a heavy humidity, with perfumes and spices that are aromatic and typical of this region. The time he re has been hectic, heart-wrenching, and yet heartwarming and hope-filled. This week, in a room the size of a closet, we heard a mother tell us that she made the decision after working with IFLI practitioners for a few months and understanding the importance of early learning and spending quality time with her child that she should quit her job(the average income in this particular slum was bout 40.00 US dollars a month) and stay home to be with her child while he was young. Her hus...

Day 1: The plan was for Miriam to arrive in Mumbai a day before the rest of the team so that she could help with the set-up of the team. Unfortunately, it took me over 48 hours to travel from Toronto to Mumbai due to the Volcanic activity in Iceland. Maryanna and Tina reached Mumbai before Miriam and Nasinya (Miriam's 2 year old daughter). Miriam is still waiting for her luggage to catch up with her. This has meant that we have hit the ground at a runners pace without much time to recover and definitely without our running shoes on. Nevertheless, it has been an inspiring time. Mumbai is over 40 degrees Celsius ---and because it is on the ocean, very humid. You don't have to do a thing to sweat. It is also a swirling mix of car honks, smokey diesel fumes, fishy smells, other scents that are unimaginable. From the window of a vehicle the thought of stepping out onto the streets is very daunting. I did today walk a block to get a coffee from a coffee shop and felt like I had ear...

May 14, 2010 The IFLI Global support team is in the midst of visiting project sites in India and Rwanda. The focus of our time in each place is to celebrate with local teams the work of the past 2 years, meet and talk with practitioners and families who are experiencing the work, conduct training with practitioners and supervisors to strengthen their knowledge of early childhood, and to work with local teams to strengthen the sustainability of each project site. Over the next 3 weeks Mary Anna, Tina or Miriam will send updates about our work. Many thanks, Miriam Patterson Program Development Officer, Int'l Family Literacy Initiative

ProLiteracy's partners are constantly looking at innovative ways to help adult learners. Our partner in Nigeria is teaching illiterate students how to grasp basic numeracy and arithmetic skills using mobile phones. As society continues to advance, learners become aware of how important it is to be able to read, write, and use technology. University Village Association (UNIVA) is using mobile phones to teach new learners a variety of everyday skills. "We provide integrated flexible curriculum for our learners. The common contents include numeracy followed by writing. After learning to use the cell phone in sending text messages, students then apply the same principle of associating numbers with alphabets to master using their pin code to withdraw amounts of cash. The ATM lesson is very simple as we teach learners how to associate letters with numbers." Mobile technology is emerging in micro finance as a way for customers to pay back their loans directly using a SIM card an...

The theme for International Women's Day 2010 is "Equal rights, equal opportunities: Progress for all." Today, on International Women’s Day we stand in solidarity with our international partners who are improving access to education, health care, and employment for thousands of women and girls around the world. In celebration of this day, ProLiteracy would like to highlight Nasrine Gross, a woman who dedicated her life to improving the rights of Afghan women. Nasrine Gross moved to the United States in 1971, from Afghanistan where she was born and educated. Today, she is the founder of the Roqia Center in Kabul and the US based non-profit, Kabultec . It is estimated that today 90% of women in Afghanistan are illiterate. The Roqia Center has developed an innovative literacy program for couples in some of Kabul’s poorest neighborhoods. Attending class often means being in the same room with other men and women not of their own family—with the women’s faces uncovered—for the...

ORGANIZATIONAL INFORMATION ProLiteracy is a non-profit educational organization that supports literacy programs in the United States and developing countries. Working through a global network of over 80 grassroots non-governmental organizations worldwide, ProLiteracy provides modest funding, training, and technical assistance to support community-based adult literacy efforts. Partner programs focus on basic education and problem solving combined with action. Our partners work in one or more of the following six action areas: economic self-reliance, health, education, environmental sustainability, human rights, peace, and the status of women. INTERNATIONAL SITE PLACEMENTS ProLiteracy seeks qualified volunteer interns to work at selected partner program sites in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Volunteers and Interns representing ProLiteracy may provide a variety of services including training and technical assistance to local program leaders, community facilitators and le...