Since l was at school, I understood the power of literacy and how all learning starts with the ability to read. In 2001, reading a United Nations report, I got concerned about the high rates of illiteracy around the world {1}.
Then when I traveled to Ethiopia in 2002, I witnessed first-hand the lack of educational resources and books in the classrooms and I could see the link between young people and the poverty trap due to their limited access to education {1}.
After a successful commercial career, l wanted to give back to the community. Therefore in 2003, I established the World Literacy Foundation with the goal to bring books, tutoring, and literacy resources to children without any support {1}.
In 2005, we started with the transportation of children’s books to Africa and a few years later, we expanded our programs to the United States and the United Kingdom, and Australia{1}.
In 2014, we founded a small reading group in Colombia that has grown through the years reaching every day more families {1}.
In 2016, we incorporated the Sun Books initiative in Uganda, a low-cost solution to deliver hundreds of eBooks pre-loaded in solar-powered tablets to reach students in off-the-grid classrooms. Today we have extended to Zimbabwe, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa {1}.
Later in 2018, we decided to implement the literacy app in Northern Territory, Australia and included e-books and games to help children learn English in conjunction with their mother tongue {1}.
Meanwhile, in 2012 we ran for the first time the World Literacy Summit at Oxford University to bring together the global literacy community to build greater collaboration and partnerships {1}.
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Reference:
1). https://worldliteracyfoundation.org/about-us/