The Literacy Garden Project aims to develop the skills of 500 marginalised rural girls annually, to promote literacy, food security and environmental stewardship by establishing a safe environment for girls from 7 rural primary schools. In a country where success in life is determined by the final scores in national primary school exams, girls face the greatest challenges. Those who fail these tests cannot access secondary school, and face prostitution, child marriage and early teen pregnancy.
In South West Kisumu, Kenya, little girls' education is jeopardized by retrogressive gender discrimination, exacerbated by rural schools lack of functional libraries or amenities. Teacher are often inadequately trained. After school, as young boys play soccer or do homework, young girls must fetch water from 5 kilometres away and do domestic tasks. Parents are reluctant to let them play outside because they fear assault. This traps communities into a perpetual cycle of poverty.
This project disrupts customary approaches. It is holistic, blending literacy, food production, environmentalism, leadership formation and technology, providing clean a safe space for girls and water for the community. Solar-powered digital E-Readers will allow girls to read and publish to interactive online libraries. Information sessions for families will be available to teach them about the impact of girls' education, thus encouraging parents to send their daughter to school.
Our vision is to empower women to end tragedies caused by gender discrimination. In its first year, the project will ensure that 500 girls master basic literacy skills and pass the national test granting them access to secondary school. Continuing education staves off child marriage, teen pregnancy and HIV/AIDS infections. Furthermore, our project will provide 1500 people with easily accessible clean water and parents training workshops.
This project has provided additional documentation in a DOCX file (projdoc.docx).
