Matching Grant  - RC of Amboro, Bolivia D4690
Literacy Project

Bolivia currently has a 35% adult illiteracy rate. The city of Santa Cruz is no different, with 1.2 million inhabitants and growing as countrymen from the poor towns of the Andean region come to the city looking for work.

Illiteracy makes finding employment very difficult.

The Chasqui Founation team, with RC of Amboro project contact Maria Nelly Pavisich (L).

The Rotary Club of Amboro is teaming up with District 6060 to fund this project and also with the Chasqui Humanitarian Foundation and the Bolivian Evangelical University to put the project into action. Materials used are produced and approved by Alfalit, the official literacy and numeracy organization in Bolivia.

Small groups will be set up and will train 1,000 adults to read and do basic math. These groups will meet regularly for approximately nine months. At that time it is expected the adult students will be able to read and write and do basic math at the third grade level.

The Rotary Foundation will spend $12,000 to fund this project, so it will cost $12 to fund one student.

Clubs in D6060 can fulfill one of two different requirements for the Presidential Citation by participating in this project. One Vocational requirement is for each club to "develop a project to improve literacy and numeracy in the workplace."  A World requirement is to "develop and initiate a new project in support of international service."

The literacy volunteers who will lead the small groups and actually do the literacy training are all certified by Alfalit.

Clubs can fulfill one of these requirements by making a substantial donation to the Annual Programs Fund of our Rotary Foundation. Perhaps a club or some of it's members would donate $240 to sponsor 20 students, or $480 to sponsor 40 students. 

Checks should be made payable to "Rotary Foundation" and mailed to District 6060 Foundation Chairman Todd Lindley, along with a note stating that this donation is to sponsor some students in the Bolivian Literacy project.

Certificates will be developed to present to clubs who sponsor some students in this program.  Also certificates for Rotarians who wish to sponsor students will be available soon.