Literacy impacts every aspect of life, from filling out a job application to reading a medicine label to understanding a warning sign. Literacy is vital for breaking the cycle of poverty. Libraries for Literacy aims to break this cycle by promoting literacy and ensuring that every school-aged South African child has access to age-appropriate books.
92% of South African public schools don’t have functioning libraries
4.7 million South Africans are totally illiterate
Only 51% of children complete secondary school
78% of 10-year-olds can’t read for meaning
More than 58% of South African homes don’t contain books
In the latest Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, South Africa scored last out of 50 countries
8%
South Africa
VS
95%
USA
14%
Black students
VS
65%
White students
Kofi Annan