Founded in 2007, LitWorld is an international organization that works alongside school communities to develop strategic plans for literacy achievement. LitWorld is focused on communities most in need of literacy support, targeting teachers who reach the most vulnerable children. Currently, LitWorld works with teachers in Kenya and Liberia, through partnerships with the Children of Kibera Foundation (Nairobi, Kenya) and Youth Action International (Monrovia, Liberia).
Teacher training is a powerful mechanism for social change. LitWorld offers schools resources, but more importantly, support for teachers in making the most of those resources. Through professional development, we empower teachers to be local leaders. When teachers realize their potential as powerful educators, they are well positioned to offer their students the tool proven to help them in breaking the cycle of poverty: an education.
One teacher, over the course of her career, reaches hundreds of students. The capacity to create a positive impact on hundreds of lives, to help create joyful readers and writers, is undeniable. LitWorld is committed to developing powerful school cultures that value the dignity of children and their hunger for learning. Our aim is to bring the transformative potential of the written word to both teachers and their students. The school setting can be a powerful sanctuary not only for learning and growth, but also for finding one’s sense of home and one’s sense of community.
In an email from Kibera, LitWorld’s Pam Allyn writes, “School: School is the saving idea for everyone here in Kibera. I ask them: What do you believe in? And they say: School. I ask: Why do you want to go to school? And they answer: School is freedom, school is the way out of our poverty.”
Across Africa, girls face staggering obstacles in getting an education. In Liberia, only 28 percent of girls enroll in secondary education, as opposed to 40 percent of boys. In a UN survey, the main reason girls cite for leaving school is safety concerns. LitWorld is working to change the current gender paradigm, and to help teachers build schools that offer a haven for their students, girls and boys alike. In 2009, LitWorld will launch the WELL Initiative, an innovative teacher-training program aimed at supporting women educators and matching them with girl students.
Words can and do change worlds. Join us as we strengthen school communities worldwide, together.
Click here to find out more about LitWorld or email us at info@litworld.org.
The Red Rose School
Reading at the Red Rose School
“Education is a social investment, not a charity.”
—Ken Okoth
The Red Rose Nursery and Children’s Centre is forging a new model of education for children in Kibera, a poverty-stricken area in Nairobi, Kenya. The school is essential in providing for its students’ basic needs: often, the children eat their only meal of the day at the school. Beyond that, the school is a sanctuary. It is a haven for its students, many of whom have lost parents and other family members to HIV/AIDS. As such, the Red Rose School offers precious learning, sustenance, and opportunities for growth to its children. It is creating a new pathway in education in Nairobi.
LitWorld is proud to partner with the Red Rose School in its vital mission. LitWorld is consulting with the Red Rose School on literacy education and professional development for its teachers. At a workshop in August 2008, one of the teachers, Emmily, said, “None of our mothers could read, so no one ever read to us. We have to do that for our students.” Teachers like Emmily are fostering Kenya’s next generation: their endeavor is both pragmatic and deeply hopeful.
Click here to find out more about the Red Rose School.
Click here to watch video “Red Rose: A Sanctuary of Learning.”
The Red Rose School
Kimmie Weeks
Youth Action International
Kimmie Weeks founded Youth Action International (YAI) to bring groundbreaking, meaningful programs to empower and renew communities in war-torn regions of Africa. His own biography is a staggering account of courage and hope: he was a child during Liberia’s tragic civil war and became a refugee. Weeks has committed his life to working for children in similarly grueling circumstances in post-war countries. YAI has developed productive ties with local NGOs as well as UNAID and local governments to bring assistance to children in post-war countries, with an emphasis on Liberia and Sierra Leone. With the utmost respect for Weeks and YAI, LitWorld is excited to announce that we will be working with YAI at three schools in rural Liberia: The Becky Primary School, The Project School, and the Isaac Davis School. LitWorld will consult with the schools on teacher training, offering professional development workshops and other resources.
Click here to see YAI's website and learn more about Kimmie Weeks. |
