By Paco Alcaide | Regional director
Over half of Guatemalan population is rural, indigenous, lives in poverty, and is disproportionately young. Guatemala has the highest illiteracy and school dropout rates in Central America, with rural areas disproportionately affected. It is estimated that more than 30 percent of the people above the age 15 cannot read or write. In Guatemala, young people represent 39% of total population; rural women of Guatemala are synonyms of social exclusion; despite the significant increase in educational coverage at the primary level, 59 of each 100 girls go to the primary school.
Riecken Community Libraries want to support reverse this situation through Reading for Pleasure and improving young people organization. Riecken Community Libraries offer a safe and comfortable space for girls and teenagers of nearby villages known their rights and strengthen their social abilities.Reading Club using kindles or printed books, Projection activities, Technology access, Creative writing, Entrepreneurship training… a lot of options for girls of rural areas to building their future.
When girls in rural communities strengthen their Reading habits, leadership skills and abilities, and are provided participation to promote the women and children rights at the community level, there will be an increase in positive community development and improvement of quality of life in the communities. When girls learn to self-organize and work in a coordinated manner, they increase their community standing. Right’s Promotion activities that they generate will likely be more sustainable and have greater impact; and Reading and Technology will be our toolkits to do that.
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