In the Family Literacy Project (FLP) we believe that families are the first and most important teachers a child will ever have. It is estimated that one million children in South Africa live in families where no adults are literate. Whatever the levels of literacy of the adults, our premise is that every family can help prepare children to read and develop a love of books that will lay the foundation for future learning, relaxation and enjoyment.

Our aim is to make literacy a shared pleasure and valuable skill, and we do this in many different ways. Our project work, in deep rural areas of southern KwaZulu-Natal, combines four thematic areas: Adult literacy (based on REFLECT), early learning and literacy, libraries and health (based on the household and community component of the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness [hc-IMCI]). We share our learning through consultancy, courses, materials development, articles and at conferences.