Goals for World Literacy Foundation in 2022

As we start another year with uncertainty around schools, we have already been privy to the colossal effect the pandemic has had on education and the way children learn. With parents now taking on larger roles in and out of the classroom.

The pandemic has exacerbated existing inequities, two-thirds of the young learning population, 1.3 billion people, do not have reliable access to the internet in their homes, hindering their participation in distance learning. 

Faced with the increasing economic uncertainty within their families, millions of young people are being pushed into child labor instead of returning to school. Put these factors together and you have an environment where far too few young people between the ages of 5 and 18 are afforded the space, time, and resources to build foundational and durable life-skills.

“Unless we take action, the share of children leaving school in developing countries who are unable to read could increase from 53 to 70 per cent”, António Guterres warned  marking the International Day of Education (Jan 24th)

The World Literacy Foundation and its global initiatives are committed to the literacy journey of children, young people, families and communities around the world.  

Around the world, some 775 million adults lack minimum literacy skills; one in five adults is still not literate and two-thirds of them are women; 60.7 million children are out-of-school and many more attend irregularly or drop out. There is a clear connection between illiteracy and countries in severe poverty.1

To meet the needs of the world’s most vulnerable people, the World Literacy Foundation aims to achieve the following:

SunBooks: Since 2014, we have been delivering digital learning initiative ‘SunBooks’ to facilitate access to quality educational resources for children living in off-grid locations in sub-Sarahan Africa. SunBooks brings literacy, solar power technology, digital learning and the local community together to enhance literacy levels and the education of children.

This year we aim to​​ :

• Expand into 4 new countries, Ghana, Guyana, Rwanda, Cameroon
• Increase our reach into 15% more classrooms  in Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda
• Create 200 new children’s books in mother tongue and English
• Develop the SunBooks app for smartphones
• Provide 500 new tablet devices and solar chargers to support remote classrooms
• Lift literacy levels by 60% of children

UK Reads: We provide engaging and creative literacy interventions to children and families living in the UK’s most deprived areas. . We provide free books, literacy workshops and engagements that aim to place reading in the heart of the home, supporting child and adult literacy journeys. 

This year we aim to:

• Deliver 20,000+ books to children who do not own a book of their own
• Create 20 library corners in community settings, where families can borrow, swap or keep books
• Deliver 15 Story Box Projects supporting families to find the fun in reading and build their literacy confidence
• Provide 15 schools with custom resource packages to enhance the literacy education of their most vulnerable pupils
• Enroll 300 children on the Pen Pal Project to engage pupils in meaningful literacy activities that also broaden their horizons and promote global citizenship 
• Pilot a 1-2-1 weekly reading buddy program for children in need of further support

USA Reads We provide books and literacy support to Michigan, Georgia, Florida and Texas.  By initiating pop up libraries, laundromat libraries and book distribution days in schools, families living in poverty can access books and literacy resources.

This year we aim to:

• To make a positive impact on 500,000 children by  lifting literacy skills of children in underserved communities across the USA.
• To provide 35,000 books and literacy packs to children who are struggling to read.
• Provide tutoring, literacy support and resources to children with a focus on regions of high disadvantage.
• Provide a Summer Reading initiative for children who aren’t engaged in reading books
• Contribute 8000 hours of volunteerism to increase our direct impact to improve literacy outcomes
• Bring about attitudinal and behavioral changes about reading a book each day by using social and mainstream media to reach 3 million people
• Provide new grassroots literacy initiatives to address the widen literacy gap caused by pandemic  disruption
• Lift community awareness and education regarding the importance of early childhood literacy development from 0-8 years.

Aprende Leyendo – In Colombia we provide weekly literacy tutoring where children can practice reading and writing, playing fun games and sharing a meal. The WLF Dingo App combines innovative technology, e-books, games and locally curated content to advance the learning of children with limited access to education and technology. We run English lessons during the school holidays and distribute books, school supplies, and other literacy resources within disadvantaged communities.

This year we aim too:

• Reach 4500 children with books, literacy support and specialized tutoring services
• Provide 4 new communities in rural Colombia with weekly reading promotion and literacy tutoring services
• Provide 40 digital tablets to support teachers with a library of e-books in classrooms in isolated communities
• Impact 300,000 parents and grandparents with education and resources to lift reading at home activities.

ROOP – We focus on providing early literacy skills and school preparedness for children aged 0-5 years from low-income families, including migrants, refugees, and indigenous individuals in Victoria, Australia. Through our EdTech project in the Northern

Territory and Western Australia, the digital learning tool, ‘Indigenous Learning App’ Supports

This year we aim to develop:

• Provide 28,000 children’s books.
  
• Provide 6000 literacy starter kits
  
• Provide 600 read aloud sessions in 50 playgroups
  
• Reach 150,000 families with supportive information and resources
  
• Utilise 5,000 volunteers hours provided to the community
  
• Provide 30,000 copies of our multilingual baby book to Afghan refugees and new migrants.
  
• Implement 50 new pop-up libraries