LITERACY IN COLOMBIA

Creating a universal front for literacy is one of the fundamental drives of the World Literacy Foundation (WLF). And becoming an Ambassador for the same reason means access to targeted information, information that could be used as a tool to inspire action.

Based on the statistics reported by the WLF, there are up to 250 million children around the world who are struggling to gain basic reading and writing skills. I have also learned that 750 million of the world’s population are illiterate and that nearly 2 thirds of them are women. This number is clearly at a disadvantage because Illiterate people earn on average of 35% less than literate people. This makes those of us who can already literate a privileged population.

This year’s Ambassador Program is focused on Columbia. We are being tasked with the goal to help children in the region to gain basic literacy skills. Why is this necessary you may ask? I now understand that the Internal Conflict in Colombia has negatively impacted children’s education. This means that children in Colombia do not have enough literacy and social skills to thrive and it is crucial to focus on literacy which is the foundation of learning and education, in a bid to reconstruct the country and achieve long-lasting peace. This for me is a noble cause.

I also believe that in pushing for basic computer literacy and STEAM skills through robotics for these children even as they are learning to read and write will give them a real fighting chance of surviving in the future. And for the most part, these skills can be achieved simultaneously. We must also note that only 53 of 100 schools in rural communities have access to the internet.

There are other disturbing numbers in Columbia. For clarity, 2 in 10 children in rural areas do not go to school and 1.2 million children currently do not receive any formal education. Only about 48.6 of children fewer than 6 years have access to an early education program.

Through the World Literacy Foundation, we can significantly close the gap for children in Columbia. Being one of 2900 ambassadors from 143 different countries around the world, I believe that we actually can make that difference.