The matching grant for the literacy project in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa has been approved by The Rotary Foundation. The grant provides for teacher training and educational materials for a adult literacy (reading and writing) and numeracy (basic arithmetic) program in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. The rural regions known as KwasNibela, about 200 miles north of Durban in the Umbungundhlovu and Port Shepstone districts will be served.

The population served by this project have never had the benefit of a basic education and training. Consequently, they are trapped in a relentless cycle of unemployment and poverty. Without some training in literacy and numeracy, plus some basic manual skills, their future is quite hopeless. While South Africa celebrates eleven years of freedom and democracy, for these illiterate communities there is neither freedom or democracy.

This project has been a year in the making, but the efforts and support of so many participants will make a significant difference to so many in need.

The total projected cost of the project is US$22,800, of which US$8,700 will be supplied by The Rotary Foundation, with remaining amount coming from the participants listed below. The 19 participating District 7150 clubs and the D7150 Literacy committee will supply US3,500 of the total costs with the remaining amount coming from other districts and clubs in the USA, Canada & South Africa.

In addition to the District 7150 clubs, Literacy Committee and individual Rotarians, the project is shared by; The Seattle-International Club (Seattle Wa.) , West-Ottawa Club (Ottawa, Canada), Pitermaritzburg Club (South Africa) and District 7040 (USA & Canada). The clubs in our District 7150 that contributed to the project are: Auburn, Aurora, Baldwinsville, Camden, Camillus, Canastota, Cato, Chittenango, DeWitt, Fayetteville-Manlius, Fulton-Sunrise, Moravia, Oneida Shores, Oriskany Falls, Oswego, Sauquoit, Skaneateles, Skaneateles-Sunrise, Tully & Utica.

Each club and individual in D7150 will be credited with PH points for their contribution. In addition, the Literacy Committee’s contribution of $825 will yield PH points, which will be distributed proportionally to contributing club and individuals by their contribution amounts. Thanks to you and your members in “making this happen”. We will keep you abreast of the progress of the projects as it takes place in this remote part of the world.

A footnote; This project is the direct result of your district sending a Literacy focused Group Study Exchange team to South Africa in 2004. This is part of what GSE and Rotary are all about; “Changing and Saving Lives”. Many thanks for your club’s participation, District 7150, Literacy Committee

Elizabeth Campbell cuddled up to her little brother, Jacob, on their living-room couch as the two looked through the pages of one of Elizabeth's new books. "Do you know what this letter is, Jakey?" she asked, curling her toes and rubbing her stocking feet together in typical 5-year-old fashion.

Jacob, who turns 3 in June, whispered an answer. Elizabeth pointed to a different part of the page. "What color is this?" she asked. Another whispered answer. "Good buddy," Elizabeth said, as proud of herself as she was of Jake.

The book they shared is Elizabeth's "My School Fun Book," a personalized, 35-page hardcover donated this year by the Eastwood Rotary Club to all the kindergarten pupils at Heman Street School in East Syracuse - Elizabeth's school - and to Elmwood Elementary in Syracuse. The custom-made books incorporate the name of each child, his or her teacher and some friends into the story, and reflect a worldwide commitment to literacy by Rotary International, a 95-year-old service organization boasting 29,000 clubs and 1.2 million members worldwide.

Rotary International has emphasized the promotion of basic literacy since 1985, when the organization declared it "a fundamental precondition to the development of peace." An estimated 40 million adults in this country - or about one-sixth the population - can't read basic signs or maps or complete simple forms, according to Literacy Volunteers of America. In Onondaga County, an estimated 58,000 adults 16 and older - about one out of every six - are considered functionally illiterate.

For the 44 clubs in the Central New York Rotary district, the commitment to literacy is a perfect fit. Laubach Literacy International and Literacy Volunteers of America are based in Syracuse. Five years ago, Rotary's then-district governor, Jim Mead, directed all local Rotary clubs to develop a literacy project that year. Normally, Rotary clubs choose a different theme to focus on each year, but literacy has remained the local district's No. 1 cause since 1995.

Phyllis Newland, director of The Learning Place, an adult-education program with two locations in Syracuse, is grateful for the continuing help from Rotary and other groups. "Everybody wants a quick fix. We're a society of quick fixes," Newland said. "Literacy is not a quick fix." Newland said illiteracy is different from a health problem that can strike anyone at any time. "If you're literate, unless there's a struggling person in your family with a learning disability or something, you just don't want to hear about it," she said. "It's a very hard thing for people to admit, and it's very hard to get people involved in working on, because it is long-term." Literacy organizations also emphasize the importance of reading at a young age, and promote the concept of family literacy.

That's where Rotary projects such as "My School Fun Book" enter the picture. Rotarians visit the schools, read to the children, and encourage them to take care of the books and read them with family members. It's more work than just making a financial donation, but more rewarding as well. "Don't just look to us as a checkbook," said Dan Morrow, a member of the Central New York district's literacy committee. "If you're in Rotary, you're in because of your vocations. Usually you're a manager, owner or executive of a company, and you bring those skills to the table. We encourage organizations to look beyond dollars and cents. How can you use us?"

A sampling: Fayetteville-Manlius Rotarians roll up their sleeves for occasional "work days" at The Learning Place. Members have installed storm windows and a fence and done some interior painting, and plan to help with a new roof later this year. Rotarians such as Andrea Ives of Baldwinsville volunteer as tutors. Ives meets once a week with an adult student from China and another from India. Ives also is in charge of a Rotary cookbook for people who have trouble reading. The Cazenovia Rotary Club organized a book drive for inmates at Jamesville Correctional Facility. The Tully Rotary Club worked with Tully schools on a book drive for children who participated in reading programs.

Rotarians lead the pack among service organizations when it comes to literacy, but other groups help in related ways. The Oswego Kiwanis Club has organized fund-raisers for Literacy Volunteers of Oswego County; Lions International clubs in Baldwinsville and Auburn have helped libraries buy special machines to enable the visually impaired to read; Optimist International sponsors annual essay contests and awards more than $10,000 in scholarships; and various Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops have had book drives.

Paul Terwilliger, a member of the Fayetteville-Manlius Rotary and chairman of the Central New York district's literacy committee, said the district's efforts to promote literacy will continue in response to society's changing needs. Terwilliger said Rotary is working on ways to link literacy providers with the major employers in Central New York. "We're trying to be the catalyst to get literacy providers and employers together," Terwilliger said.

The workplace effort can spread to Rotary's other goal of family literacy. If adults lack reading skills, they aren't likely to read to their children, he said. "We don't have the answers yet," he said. In the meantime, literacy providers such as The Learning Place's Newland are grateful for the help. "Maybe we can make a dent," she said.

Andrea Ives, a member of the D7150 Literacy Committee, is in charge of a new Cookbook Project. The Literacy Committee is undertaking this new project, that of creating a basic, easy-to-read, large-print Cookbook. This will be useful to new readers, the visually impaired, and the culinary-challenged!

We would like recipes from clubs and individuals to include in the Cookbook. The recipes should be relatively simple to prepare, but tasty. They will be re-written in a new reader's format. The Cookbook will include a helpful hints section, and a picture g1ossary to help with harder words.

Send recipes by Oct. 31st to: Andrea Ives, 7575 State Fair Blvd., Baldwinsville NY 13027

 

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Create-a-Book Project by Eastwood Club

Now in its fourth year, The District 7150 Literacy Program is being directed by the Literacy Committee, chaired by Paul Terwilliger, Fayetteville-Manlius and Dan Morrow, Syracuse. The district Literacy Roundtable was held November 5, 1998 at Dibble's Inn, Vernon, NY. Members of area literacy providers were present to assist clubs in developing projects. Clubs with projects described their activities. Eastwood's Project enables many students to learn to read.

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Literacy Matching Grant in Mexico

Matching Grant Approved to Teach Mexican Children to Read

Word has just been received from the Rotary Foundation that the $20,000 matching grant has been approved so now, once certain papers have been signed, work can begin on the $60,000 literacy project in Guanajuato State in central Mexico. It was over a year ago that work started on the application which brings together districts 7150 and 4160 (Mexico) in a joint endeavor to provide reading, writing and math skills to approximately 1850 natives in the Dolores Hidalgo area of central Mexico. The grant also helped provide health and business skills to these people.

8-99 Update and Pictures!

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Columbus School Project

The Utica Rotary Club adopted Columbus School and made a difference with their combined Literacy and Community and Urban Concerns award-winning project. Each child was given books and pencils, and each classroom was adopted by a member of the Utica Rotary Club who went in monthly to read to their class. Click here to view the wonderful results.

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Columbus School Project Featured in RI's News Basket!

Rotary International One Rotary Center Evanston, Illinois, USA ********************************
Rotary News Basket -- No. 614 21 July 1999
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New York club adopts school as community service project.

Columbus Elementary is the largest elementary school in the Utica, New York, USA, area, enrolling 800 students -- 75 percent of whom read below state standards. Its ethnically diverse student body of kindergarten through sixth graders speaks more than 20 foreign languages, with many children enrolled in the English as a Second Language program, and the school itself is without a playground or basic materials such as pencils and books.

When the Rotary Club of Utica adopted Columbus less than a year ago, its ambitious goals of providing students with the opportunity to complete high school, continue their education, and pursue meaningful careers required consistent and creative participation from every member. The club's Urban Concerns Committee supervises the entire project, but all club committees have since found ways, with the help of teachers and administrators, to support the students and the school.

The Environmental Committee started a recycling project to provide each classroom with new or slightly used pencils, pens, and children's books. By recruiting knitters at local senior centers, the Senior Citizens Committee found a way to give mittens to all the students. Members of the Literacy Committee adopted each of the 35 classrooms, and volunteers made monthly visits to read to the students.

Independent of the committees, other club members have done the following: designed a Web site for the school, installed new carpeting in two classrooms, and set up parent support groups that have been attended by Russian, Hispanic, and Bosnian parents, grandparents raising children, and parents raising children with disabilities. With a new school year upon them, Utica Rotarians have additional plans in place to secure bilingual books, fund field trips, and provide incentives such as groceries and clothing to families to attract them to the support group sessions. They also want to enhance the Parents' Room, a meeting place at the school, to include computer software and other educational aids.

For more information, see District 7150's Web site at www.rotarydistrict7150.org/literacy.html.

 

 

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Oswego's ORBIT

Oswego Rotary Club's Rotary Books International Transfer

A child in an elementary school in Nairobi or Mombasa, Kenya, opens a book. Inside the child finds a bookplate with the letters O.R.B.I.T. The acronym is explained at the bottom of the plate: Oswego Rotary Books -- International Transfer. This is the vision of many Oswego Rotarians, as they launch their newest international service project -- sending books to third-world countries. Around the Rotary symbol is the inscription: ``Building Better Understanding and Literacy Through the Sharing of Books."

 

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HABITAT FOR HUMANITY-KENYA- For Mark Hinrichs

Dear Rotary Friends - Our book collection efforts in the USA are underway and we are aiming at effecting transfers soon via USAF/NY Air National Guard resources. We have Mark Hinrichs, a past-year Oswego Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar candidate, already in Kenya. Mark has agreed to act as liasion for Oswego Rotary and with the Mombassa Club or any club your District leadership directs. GREAT NEWS! Oswego Rotary heard from ROTARY INTERNATIONAL/ They want to profile ORBIT in "The Rotarian Magazine." What a great opportunity for our "International Literacy" reach across the sea to typify the strength of Rotary's commitment to global literacy. Oswego's ready to go! We're hoping for a message from Mr. Aboo at the Mombassa Rotary Club with the in-country delivery details soon. This is a great opportunity for both clubs!

Mark, thanks for your coordination efforts. Best, Mike Brower, PP Oswego Rotary Club, D7150