March 4th is WORLD READ ALOUD DAY
What are you going to do about it?
LITWORLD- Organizers Behind World Read Aloud Day
From the LIT WORLD WEBSITE:
Literacy is the foundation for emotional and physical well-being, intellectual growth, and economic security. The right to read and write is a fundamental human right and belongs to all people.
Worldwide at least 793 million people remain illiterate. Two-thirds of them are women. All over the world, children are hungry for learning and for the power it brings. Research shows that children learn to read and write best by writing and telling the stories of their own experiences. Yet it is rare to find safe spaces where children feel fully comfortable to do so.
LitWorld is changing that.
- See more at: http://litworld.org/about/#sthash.bTW7SwiE.dpufConsider these statistics...
Global Literacy Statistics
According to the latest data (2009), 793 million adults – two thirds of them women – lack basic reading and writing skills. Included in this statistic are 127 million youth aged 15-24. (UNESCO)
Since 1985, the female adult literacy rate has risen 15%, which is about double the growth of the male literacy rate in the same time period. (UNESCO)
On tests involving 4,500 to 10,000 students in 43 countries, half of the girls said they read for at least thirty minutes a day, compared with less than one-third of the boys. (UNESCO)
In sub-Saharan Africa, girls have less than a 50% chance of finishing primary school. In some Asian countries, girls also struggle: 41% of girls in Pakistan and 30% in India fail to finish primary school. (results.org)
Poorly-literate individuals are less likely to participate in democratic processes and have fewer chances to fully exercise their civil rights (UNESCO)
A child born to a mother who can read is 50 percent more likely to survive past the age of 5 than a child born to an illiterate woman. (UNESCO)
A literate and educated girl is three times less likely to acquire AIDS, she will earn at least twenty-five percent more income, and she will produce a smaller, healthier family. (UNESCO)