Three billion people in the world face literacy challenges every day. Some 800,000,000 adults and 200,000,000 children cannot READ this, and girls and women represent two-thirds of those who are unable to read or write! Children Reading for Children International want to do something about that!
Children Reading for Children International (CRCI) is a non-profit grant funding foundation dedicated to advancing literacy and education as a fundamental children’s right. The organization focuses on helping parents, teachers, schools, and libraries build literacy and numeracy skills for children.
CRCI believes literacy is an essential life-skill fundamental to education and any future economic opportunity. Their child-centered read-a-thons are designed to educate children about the importance of children’s right to literacy and education worldwide. They inspire children to read, raise awareness reading and raise funds for children’s literacy globally.
CRCI’s Global Ambassadors for Literacy & Education champion a charitable campaign reflective of three distinct, but interrelated learning lessons for children. The first aim is to teach eco-literacy by educating children about nature, wildlife, endangered species, conservation, sustainability and overall respect for the environment.
The second aim is to teach children about the significant role literacy plays in the lives of children of war and child soldiers. The organization’s recommended reading list encourages children to learn about the principles of non-violence and humanitarian practices used to establish peace in communities and resolve conflicts without the need for violence or war.
The third aim is to teach the value of friendship and cultural diversity by fostering a sense of community. The evolving list of best books on First Nations people teaches children about the culture, heritage and distinct languages of diverse peoples that comprise the First Nations community. The fact of the matter is that there is a certain relation between gender inequality, violence, trafficking, AIDS, and a lot more bad that’s brought upon many un- or underprivileged in the world.
All of the organization’s campaigns aim to teach global citizenship. By participating in CRCI read-a-thons, children can exercise the good habit of reading while developing both literacy and numeracy skills that are essential for life.
CRCI’s Summer Read-a-thon emphasizes the principles of respect for nature and human diversity, non-violence, friendship, and global citizenship. The ever-evolving online library of children’s rights resources offers valuable instructional material for parents, teachers, and students, such as books and videos that highlight international injustices such as gender inequality and the abuse of child soldiers and children of war.
In the US, the organization is committed to working with organizations that support child poverty and at-risk youth. CRCI’s Youth Literacy Leadership program helps with the delivery of comprehensive literacy skills for at-risk youth, such as digital literacy, financial literacy, and communication skills, and will make a positive difference globally, especially for girls, though often it feels like they’re climbing an ever-steepening mountain.
Worldwide, one in five men and women are illiterate. 793,000,000 adults in the world are unable to READ this information. 64% of women in the world are adversely challenged by illiteracy. Another 200,000,000 children in the world are denied their basic rights to literacy and education. Two-thirds of uneducated children are girls.
Children Reading for Children International is taking action to solve the problem of illiteracy by sponsoring child-centered read-a-thons. By engaging children in the good habits of reading, and by asking children to raise funds for children’s literacy around the world, students will enhance their own literacy and numeracy skills.
CRCI supports a rights-based approach to the grand challenge of global illiteracy because there is no denying the fact that literacy rates remain lowest among those with the least political voice: women and children. It is the organization’s mission to advance literacy and education around the world by supporting child-centered charities that work with impoverished, war-torn communities to build schools, train teachers, provide sports events, and provide vital information to improve standards in health care, education, agriculture, clean water, sustainable development, business, and governance.
Poverty, war, and gender inequality adversely affect access to literacy and education. 61 million primary aged children do not go to school; more than half of these children are girls. In 21 developing countries the government spends more on arms than primary school education.
Some 42% of out-of-school children worldwide live in conflict-affected regions. By increasing literacy rates around the world, poverty rates alone can be reduced by 12%. Countries that experience a 20-30% increase in literacy rates see GND increase 8-16%.
Children Reading for Children International is devoted to changing the lives of children by raising child literacy rates around the world. They work with local and national governmental and non-governmental organizations to promote family literacy by sharing resources to support parent-child reading relationships. They work with teachers and schools to offer student resources designed to assist with the teaching of children’s rights issues.
The organization provides civic youth involvement kits in partnership with other children’s rights advocates because they believe rights-discourse and political representation are critical for the advancement of equality, social equity, world peace, international development and global justice for all, also in the workplaces around the world. They believe in the power of literature to educate children about their rights and responsibilities as world citizens. They think reading is revolutionary does good things for children around the world and they believe every child has the right to learn to read and to write, too!