Caroline Stanton of the Rotary Club of Southam 2000 told Rotarians in Warwick about a project in Guatemala which helps children to read.

The Guatemala Literacy Project is one of Rotary International’s largest projects.  Initiated in 1997 it now involves over 800 clubs in 99 Districts across the USA, Canada, Caribbean and UK, and helps to improve education for the most under-served students in Guatemala. 63,000 pupils were helped in the last year in 376 schools and illiteracy has halved over the last 30 years.

In that time over 320,000 students have been helped by four sustainable projects which have been tested and proved to work. Caroline’s father, John Stanton, got involved in the programme over 10 years ago, and they have taken several trips to the country delivering books and other teaching materials.

Over one third of people in rural Guatemala cannot read or write, without which they cannot progress in the modern world. The Literacy Project takes a comprehensive approach and had to start by training people to teach. In 3 generations, the project has developed indigenous Guatemalans from using a thumbprint, to signing, to using the internet.

A Rise programme helps primary teachers acquire the skills to teach children to read. 90% of schools in rural areas with a Mayan Indian population where families exist on less than $4 a day, have no textbooks. GLP provides textbooks, which students rent, the dropout rate falls and educational achievement rises. Fees paid for by the parents and community are recycled to replace the books every 5 years.

60% of jobs in Guatemala now require computer skills and the programme has brought computers to middle schools enabling indigenous young people to transform their lives and support their families. When money is tight often girls get left behind and the programme helps everyone to progress. A small rental fee per student ensures a book replacement programme, and after 100 hours of classes over 3 years, students are achieving results in obtaining jobs in modern businesses. Companies like Pizza Express, Pepsi and Microsoft also support the programme. A small number of students are identified for scholarships and get supported to reach their potential in higher education.

Thanking Caroline for her presentation Rotarian David Smith reminded the Club how Rotary engages people around the world to help poorer countries to advance. President Elect Rachel Hinton presented Caroline with a cheque for the Guatemala Literacy Project.