March - Literacy Month

Message from the Chair
Literacy is the key to success 

March 2009 

Dear family of Rotary,

Knowing how to read and write can transform a person's life. These
basic skills, which so many of us take for granted, can mean a job,
an income, and hope for a better future for those who are struggling
to break the cycle of poverty. That's why Rotary has focused on
promoting literacy for more than two decades, and why The Rotary
Foundation has provided millions of dollars to support literacy
projects.

March is Literacy Month on the Rotary calendar, a time to consider
what your club could be doing to boost literacy rates in your
community and in communities around the globe. In parts of our world,
less than 30 percent of the population can read and write. Many of
those people are women and girls who have few opportunities for
education and who then cannot teach their own children to read. Even
in wealthy countries, you'll find substandard schools that are
failing to adequately teach basic skills and far too many adults who
cannot read or write well enough to function effectively in society.

Our Foundation's Humanitarian Grants Program is at work throughout
the world helping many disparate groups gain life-changing literacy
skills. Foundation grants are providing books, school supplies,
computers, and other educational equipment. With Foundation support,
clubs are adopting failing schools and helping them to thrive and
developing programs using the concentrated language encounter method
that has proven so effective in Thailand and many other countries.

Literacy opens doors to employment and economic security. Let's use
our Foundation resources to provide that essential key.

Jonathan Majiyagbe
Foundation Trustee Chair

Source: eFlash_Rotary