The Literacy Scholarship Fund

Illiteracy is a kind of prison. Illiterate people find their progress in life blocked in every direction they turn. They see literate people moving about unhindered, finding good jobs, reading and writing letters, working in offices, helping their children with homework, taking notes in meetings, signing contracts, reading in church and studying scripture, enjoying books. All the while they cannot even read the directions on medication for a sick child.

Illiteracy is a prison that is invisible to most of us on the outside. We hardly remember a time when we could not read and cannot imagine the daily humiliations, frustrations, and lost opportunities illiterate people face. We are so used to the freedom literacy gives us that we take it for granted.

If you are able to read these words then you are very privileged. Through the Literacy Scholarship Fund, Beyond Borders makes it possible for you to share this privilege with a Haitian who never had the chance to attend school. Like the scholarship funds that universities establish for talented or needy students, this fund covers the cost of teaching someone to read and write, the cost of books, teaching materials, teacher training, salaries, & supervision, etc.

Consider the impact you can have. For $300 you can underwrite the entire cost of literacy training for an individual Haitian. With your pledge to give $25 a month for a year to the Literacy Scholarship fund you will know that you are sharing the gift of literacy with someone and giving them a powerful tool they can use in their struggle against poverty. Beyond Borders will send you periodic reports telling the story of someone who is learning to read through the Literacy Scholarship Fund.

I'd like more information from Beyond Borders about the Literacy Scholarship Fund.