International Literacy day 2021
Can you imagine that there are over 773 million young people and adults globally who cannot read and write, with 250 million children failing to acquire basic literacy skills. There are more women who cannot read than men, and women are more often left behind in the digital environment, which is where much learning is now taking place. This situation is expected to worsen, as COVID-19 school disruptions have created so many more learning challenges. In many of the countries we are working in, schools have not re-opened.
Illiteracy figures are startling and this week we decided as a team to reflect on what we have managed to achieve through working together with our partners despite the challenges of Covid. We know we must keep up our commitment moving forward and encourage educators to keep working towards every child and adult everywhere accessing the opportunity of learning to read and write.
When we talk about digital learning, we often imagine everyone on-line. That is just not possible for all students and educators in countries such as Haiti, Jamaica, Sierra Leone and The Gambia for example. Here wi-fi connections are not accessible or affordable, especially in the rural areas and electricity every day is not a given.
We have had to work differently to support learning to continue in some places and we have achieved that by listening to our partners and working flexibly with them. Often it is not with the provision of new technology but by the use of solar radios and Positive Periods training to enable students to learn.
By supporting learning in mother tongue languages as we are doing with our partner Alfa Literacy, in Limonade, Haiti. Alfa is a community organization that provides people with a second chance to obtain a quality, officially-recognized, and comprehensive education to people with low or no literacy skills, in particular women and their communities.
Or by providing books in local languages that are contextual; supporting students and educators to share and write their own stories.
On the digital front we have been hosting a programme “Myths and Stories” consisting of 4 weekly webinars which have allowed students from Haiti, Sierra Leone, The Gambia and the United Kingdom to share stories online for the first time together, creating connection and understanding of themselves and others.
Piloting digital classrooms in The Gambia and Sierra Leone. The digital classroom allows the provision of inclusive programming for students and this complements book lending through the learning resource centre libraries.
Supporting literacy learning is not only about reading and writing, there are many ways you can support access to learning. Below are just some of the ways you can support access to education for all children everywhere.
The Steve Sinnott Foundation • September 10, 2021
This week while out and about in Hertfordshire and we visited the British Schools Museum. We discovered the first school opened by Joseph Lancaster, was known as the ‘Poor Childs Friend”, was in 1810. It was his lifelong mission that all children regardless of their circumstances, should benefit from an education. Apparently, Joseph heard a small girl say, “Oh that I could read!” and this inspired him to create a simple education system that eventually would benefit children across the world. Joseph was the tenth son of a poor man himself from South London. His aim was to offer free education for everyone. However, it would be 93 years before the U.K. government finally made education free for all. There are still many countries today where education is still not free to access and it is certainly not compulsory for primary and secondary age pupils. Joseph’s mission really resonates with that of the Foundation, to support access to education for all. We enjoyed our visit and appreciated the tour given by two of the Museum’s volunteers, Angela and Clare. They described some of the challenges faced in the early years of formal education and shared some of the rules that teachers and students had to abide by with us.
Sparks Bristol is a collaborative community project initially envisioned by The Global Goals Centre, (GGC) more of which below. A few years ago, GGC took over an empty Marks and Spencer store and that’s how Sparks was born. Sparks is a department store with a difference, co-created by Global Goals Centre and Artspace Lifespace. On the ground floor is a huge range of shops, installations, events and more. Upstairs is a hub for local artists, it offers affordable studios as well as rehearsal and performance space. The Global Goals Centre is a Bristol-based educational charity inspired by the Sustainable Development Goals. (SDGs). GGC believe the SDG’s or Global Goals as they are sometimes known, can be reached, with imaginative solutions and widespread education and engagement. They work with partners to promote creative solutions and deliver ground breaking projects that work towards these ambitious goals. The Steve Sinnott Foundation supported the Global Goals Centre with seed funding when it first started over 5 years ago. This month we went to visit them to see how they are getting on and we were taken aback by the volume of work they have achieved since they started. It is amazing to see how though working together with other local community groups it has grown into the vibrant centre it is today. All of the creative projects they host are linked to the SDGs. They cover topics that tackle poverty, education, climate change, fashion recycling and upcycling, to name a few.
Spring is definitely here, daffodils, blossom and crocuses are all basking in the bright sunshine. There is still a chill in the air in the shade but it's happening and all the seeds that were sown over the last few months are coming to fruition. At the Foundation, we have been planning the year ahead and our Positive Periods and Prevention of Gender Based Violence programmes got underway this weekend in Haiti and Ghana. These projects will have a long-lasting effect on the lives of the women and girls who take part: tackling the root causes of gender-based violence and enabling girls to attend school every day when they have their period, to feel safe at school and know how to take action when they are faced with violence. These are the first of many projects planned for the year ahead as we continue to work towards Education for All children everywhere.
