- 3 Communities - 4 Years - 56 Reading Promoters - 2,000
Children In many developing countries, such as Guatemala, there
is no culture of literacy. Rates of secondary education are low,
families live in poverty, books are inaccessible, community
libraries are scarce, and the school system is the worst in the
Americas. As a result, in all but the wealthiest communities in
Guatemala few adults read for pleasure and far fewer read aloud
to their children. Our Leaders and Readers Program empowers
Mayan youth in rural Guatemalan communities to eradicate
illiteracy and lead their villages out of poverty. We invest in
teenagers through scholarships, mentoring and leadership
development, enabling them to complete high school (an
accomplishment that less than 10% of their peers achieve). In
return, they volunteer as “reading promoters” – each teenager
runs several weekly reading circles for the young children in
their community. And together reading promoters and program
alumni initiate supporting projects to develop