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Why sponsor?

The statistics on literacy in South Africa are telling.

In Sub-Saharan Africa approximately 45 million children don’t attend school
Illiteracy rates are high at an estimated 24% of people over 15 years old : close on five million South Africans are totally illiterate
54% of the South African population has not completed an adequate level of education
According to international tests, almost 80% of South African pupils have not developed basic reading skills by the time they reach Grade 5
Tests performed at Grade 6 in the Western Cape showed that only 5% of pupils in township schools were able to read at appropriate levels
A child who leaves primary school unable to read is almost doomed to fail in secondary school and, as a result, will experience a life of limited opportunity
In a recent international comparative evaluation of reading literacy of Grade 4 pupils involving more than 40 countries, South African pupils achieved the lowest score compared to children in 39 other countries (http://timss.bc.edu/pirls2006/intl_rpt.html)
On average South African pupils are two years behind their international contemporaries (Progress in Reading Literacy Study, PIRLS 2006).
Achievement is low across all language groups. 75% of pupils did not reach the lowest international benchmark.

These are sobering numbers. The encouraging news is that is interventions aimed at increasing literacy levels at an early stage greatly have been shown to increase the chances of success in secondary education. It has been well documented that reading can open new worlds.

Learning to read and write stands out as two vital life skills because literacy is a condition of belonging in our society and reading can give people access to more experience than anyone can encompass in a single lifetime.
South African Department of Education’s Revised National Curriculum Statement 2005 aims to develop the full potential of each pupil as a citizen of a democratic South Africa. It seeks to create a lifelong pupil who is confident and independent, literate, numerate and multi-skilled, compassionate, with a respect for the environment and the ability to participate in society as a critical and active citizen.

This is at the heart of the work undertaken by help2read.