SILVER SPRING, Md.--On International Literacy Day, September 8, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) calls for greater attention to the plight of hundreds of millions of people around the world who live in deep poverty because they lack access to basic reading and writing training.
"Without these basic skills, too many people are still unable to find the means to properly provide for their families," said Charles Sandefur, president of ADRA International. "Because we recognize the critical role of literacy in reducing poverty, education is a key component in everything we do."
In Nepal, ADRA is providing scholarships for young students to prevent them from being forced into child labor. Currently, 500 underprivileged students between the ages of six and 18 are benefiting from this program. Within the next three years, ADRA hopes to increase that number to 3,000, expanding the program from four to six districts of Nepal.
"This has greatly improved the children's educational opportunities, as well as their quality of life," said Yvan Castro, country director for ADRA Nepal.
Without this support, Castro added, there is little chance that these children would receive an education. Instead, he said, they would likely have to work to support their families, or be forced to stay home to help their mothers with housework, or to look after their younger siblings.
In northeastern Liberia, where an estimated 85 percent of residents are illiterate, ADRA has been helping family leaders gain access to literacy training through the ongoing Functional Adult Literacy program, which, by its completion in March 2010, will have benefitted an estimated 700 people.
"This is a big deal," said Orlando Kanswen, program director for ADRA Liberia. "The project is helping participants learn to read, write, spell, and keep organized records of their small businesses. It will also improve their health, enabling them to read important health messages regarding HIV and AIDS, or those related to reproductive health and childcare."
In an effort to improve literacy rates in Somalia, ADRA has been implementing an educational project that is increasing enrollment rates and improving the quality of children's education in the regions of Somaliland and Puntland, in northern Somalia. The project is also designed to help adults, including parents, and community education committee members, gain basic skills in numeracy and literacy, as well as interpersonal skills and other life skills.
"Attaining primary education is a fundamental right of every child, helping them to improve their quality of life, and providing coping strategies for poverty reduction," said Samuel Muthamia, programs assistant for ADRA Somalia. "This project prevents and directly contributes to the poverty alleviation efforts."
According to the United Nations, an estimated 776 million adults around the world still lack the most basic literacy and numeracy skills. The majority—two-thirds—are women and girls, and often belong to marginalized and disadvantaged populations, such as indigenous populations, linguistic and cultural minorities. Globally, approximately 75 million children are currently out of school.
"Literacy is not just about reading and writing," said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, on International Literacy Day. "It is about respect, opportunity, and development... Above all, it enables individuals to realize their rights as citizens and human beings."
Every year, International Literacy Day is observed on September 8, and serves to remind the world of the current status of literacy and adult learning.
This year, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is highlighting the role of literacy in empowering communities and improving their participation as citizens and in social development. Literacy and Empowerment is also the theme for the 2009-2010 biennium of the United Nations Literacy Decade.
Since 1998, ADRA has been actively involved in literacy training in dozens of countries around the world.
ADRA is a non-governmental organization present in 125 countries providing sustainable community development and disaster relief without regard to political or religious association, age, gender, race, or ethnicity.
For more information, visit www.adra.org.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
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