Making good use of very limited resources to boost national Literacy Rates

I am certain that everyone is so tired of the relentless dissection of the Covid Pandemic, its effect upon the world economy, countries in the first and third world, individuals, and the myriad projections of where and how its’ trajectory will transport all of us to a new normal, an unknown frontier.   I will not contribute to the debate suffice to say that the trajectory I have observed within our Team at the Family Literacy Project has been one of the most rewarding and enlightening journeys that I have ever been on.

The Team have adapted and worked tirelessly to continue develop our online approach while actively returning to face-to-face interactions as the regulations have allowed.  This has been tough but their commitment and creativity in delivering the daily, online sessions for a myriad of Caregivers and Parents in isolated communities has continued to keep reading as an essential and exciting part of their daily routine.  The importance of “reading as a shared and valuable skill” is now firmly entrenched in those communities that reached out to us during lockdown – we trust that our contributions will continue to assist by closing the gap that is the result of the “lost years” of Covid closures.

Below are some numbers of children that we reached in 2021 and continue to grow in 2022.

Number of children attending Holiday Reading Programme – 7120 p.a.

Number of Books Borrowed from FLP Community Libraries – 7571p.a.

Number of Toddlers in ROTR Groups – 95

Number of entire Creches using Libraries as part of ROTR Groups – 4

Number of Homes Visited – 129

Number 0-5YO in homes Visited – 452

	Reach Out To Read Programme in DOE Schools	Learners per grade	Nest at Home	FLP Library
		Pre- school	Gr R	Gr 1	Gr 2	Gr 3
	Total	101	60	301	110	123	162	138

• Funding:

I feel we are doing some of our most significant work to date but unfortunately the economic crisis that resulted due to lockdown his devastated the Family Literacy Project finances.  There are currently 11 funding proposals that are out for our 2021 year.  Unfortunately, of the 20 we have only received two positive feedbacks and the amounts that they represent would unfortunately not be able to sustain operating at current levels. While stressed by this, I am positive and hopeful that we will receive additional funding that will allow us to intensify our work again.  

Many of my colleagues that operate NGOs have found themselves having to rationalise or close the projects completely.  Family Literacy Project has been blessed being able to continue operating despite the devastation that we’ve seen around us. 

I would like to thank all of our supporters for their support of the Family Literacy Project.  As a project that is 22 Years old, we are officially the oldest Family Literacy Organisation in SA and are continuing to reflect upon our practice and refine what we do as we address the Literacy Crisis that we face.

Kind regards

Pierre