Adult Literacy

What would your life be like today if you had never been taught to read? How would you find work? Manage your finances? Help your children with their homework?

Learning to read and write is so common in North America we often take it for granted. The people of Haiti do not. Fewer than one in four Haitians can read. Today, fewer than a quarter of school-age Haitian children complete grade school, and only 1% graduate from high school.

The lack of educational opportunities has contributed to Haiti's many social problems. Haiti has the highest infant mortality rate, the highest level of malnutrition, and the lowest life expectancy of any nation in the Western hemisphere. In spite of working tremendously hard, eight out of ten Haitians earn on average less than one dollar a day. They desperately want a better life. They know that learning to read is absolutely crucial. They simply lack the opportunity.

Hope Outreach International is working to provide Haitians with this opportunity. Hope Outreach International has helped established and run many literacy centers in Haiti. Through these centers hundreds of Haitians are learning to read, write and develop other skills needed to have a better life. An illiterate Haitian has little hope of escaping poverty. But as participants begin to read for the first time, a new world of hope and opportunity opens up before them. As pastor Winsor Israel, our director of the literacy program said, "These men and women not only learning how to read and write, but they' re also become better parents to their children and better citizen to the their community and country."

For the first time newly literate farmers have access to a wealth of information on better farming techniques, allowing them to better feed their families and communities. Books on nutrition, sanitation, and preventative health practices help families conquer the host of preventable illnesses that plague Haiti. Participants can record business transactions, write letters, read contracts and forms. The shame of illiteracy vanishes. The Bible becomes an open book for participants seeking spiritual nourishment, and literacy enables them to participate more fully in the life of their church. Literacy also protects Haitians from exploitation, fortifies democracy, and strengthens the economic prospects of every citizen. Adult participants have rarely had any formal schooling, but most adults can become functionally literate in one to two years. Adult classes average 15 students.

Hope Outreach International relies completely on the generosity of individuals and churches to support our work. For just $20 per month over the course of two years, you can help us to provide literacy training for one adult to learn how to read, write, and perform basic math skills. And not only do they learn these skills, but also community organizing skills to make a better life for themselves and their families. Please consider contributing.