Training Youth to Teach and Inspire Children to Read
Each of us learned to read because a caring adult sat us on their lap and read stories to us and shared a love and excitement for the wide world reading opens up for us.
In Guatemala, there is no developed culture of reading. Literacy rates are low, families are poor, books are too expensive to purchase, community libraries are scarce, and the
school system is one of the worst in the Americas. As a result, few adults read for pleasure even if they are literate. And few read to their children.
What we have seen, though, is that where there is a caring person reading to children in a community, a
culture of reading thrives. So in 2009 Reading Village will launch a pilot program to train middle and high school students to be dynamic reading promoters in their communities. In return, these youth will receive partial scholarships to continue their studies. It is our goal to scale up this program to put reading promoters in communities throughout Guatemala.
Scholarships
Public school is not free in Guatemala. Most children, if they attend school at all, do not study beyond the sixth grade. Your donation to a scholarship fund has a double impact because not only does it keep a student in school, but the student gives time in return running reading activities with younger children in the community. Our scholars not only receive funding for school, we also provide leadership training, including field trips outside their community and opportunities to meet other student leaders in other communities. It is our desire to develop these young people into community leaders who will take ownership of creating a new future for themselves and their community.
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3210 15th Street, Boulder, CO 80304 303-883-2822
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