Literacy Boost

Blind in one eye, Beatrice struggled to read until her Literacy Boost mentor gave her the one-on-one support she needed. Today, Beatrice is thriving at school and volunteers as a reading mentor to her fellow students.

Blind in one eye, Beatrice struggled to read and cried from embarassment when called on in school until her Literacy Boost mentor gave her the one-on-one support she needed at a weekly reading camp in her village in Malawi.

Beatrice is one of thousands of children around the globe getting a boost in her reading skills through Save the Children's community reading program called Literacy Boost. Read the recent New York Times profile on our Literacy Boost program.

Learning to read is a key to unlocking further education and career potential. And, while more children are in school today than ever before, many are not learning basic skills like reading once they get there. But, Literacy Boost is helping to change that by creating a culture of reading both inside and outside the classroom.

How it Works

We measure kids' reading skills to see how well they:

• Know their ABCs
• Sound out words and letters
• Read and understand sentences

We train teachers, showing them how to:

• Keep students engaged and interested in reading
• Help young children focus and pay attention
• Use games, songs and other fun activities in lessons

“Even if we are not literate ourselves, we can help our children so that they can read and study well. It is important that our children know how to read so that they would have a better life than us.”
- Mother of a Literacy Boost Student

We get communities involved by:

• Providing books, libraries and supplies
• Sponsoring camps, “reading buddies” and other learning activities
• Organizing workshops to help parents support their children’s lessons

Literacy Boost is helping kids read in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Pakistan and Uganda. In 2012, we will expand to eight more countires, including Afghanistan, Bhutan, Bolivia, Burundi, Indonesia, Kenya, South Africa, Yemen and Zimbabwe.

Last Updated January 2012