Posted: 08/09/2009
Imagine if this looked like a jumbled mass of marks on the page. Or if you recognised some letters or shapes, but couldn't make out what each sentence said. Imagine how many jobs would be out of reach if you couldn't read or write.
Worldwide, some 776 million adults lack minimum literacy skills; one in five adults is still not literate and two-thirds of them are women; 75 million children are out-of-school and many more attend irregularly or drop out.
As UNESCO states, "Literacy is a human right, a tool of personal empowerment, and a means for social and human development. Educational opportunities depend on literacy.
Literacy is at the heart of basic education for all, and essential for eradicating poverty, reducing child mortality, curbing population growth, achieving gender equality and ensuring sustainable development, peace and democracy".
In Delhi's slums, children have numerous barriers to their learning and to achieving literacy. The teaching at their school may be of a very poor standard, or their situation at home may have a detrimental effect on their schoolwork, or they may not get the chance to go to school at all. Many girls are excluded from the opportunity to learn just because of their gender.
Asha is constantly working to address these issues.
It provides resource centres where children can go to read and learn in comfort and with support from adults and their peers. It tackles the problem of school dropouts and school non-attendance by communicating with parents and teachers, helping them to understand the benefits of education, or the problems faced by slum children.
It enlists the help of each area's children to encourage and inspire other children to learn.
It helps women who are illiterate to develop their knowledge, and to have a sense of pride and achievement in the skills that they learn and the role that they can play in their communities. It also aims to make sure that more and more girls grow up to be literate, and to have the opportunities that were not available to their mothers.
Asha is striving to ensure that as many people as possible gain the opportunities and benefits that come with being literate.
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The best thing about the loan scheme is how quickly people have seen benefits, whether they are able to earn more or improve their homes...The direct relationship with the banks helps them a lot, and I'm glad to have been part of it.
Ramesh, Asha Programme Officer
