Some things to think about...

I have been doing some research for background on some of our projects and came across some very disturbing statistics regarding literacy in Nepal. Of course it is no secret that there is work to do in this area – in fact that is why we are doing the work we do – but it is still quite confronting when you see the numbers.

The 2001 census rates Nepal’s literacy for people over 15 years old at approximately 49%, this ranks Nepal in the bottom 20 countries in the world. However when broken down by gender the situation, perhaps unsurprisingly, is much worse. Whilst around 63% of males are literate only 35% of females are so lucky. The World Bank recently estimated that of the 867 million illiterate adults in the world today, 64% are women. So Nepal is not alone in having such a disparity in its population’s literacy.

Many reports and studies continue to show the many and significant advantages to a country when females are given a chance at an education. Some of the main benefits suggested by the UN of investing in women and girls are listed below.

• It has a multiplier effect on productivity, efficiency and sustained economic growth for the country.
• Women who are educated tend to have fewer and healthier children, and those children are more likely to attend school.
• It increases the ability and likelihood of women and girls to protect themselves against HIV.
• Women make long-ranging contributions to poverty eradication and development.

We are proud that our projects, in particular our Dream Catchers and Daisy Chains projects, tackle these problems head on. There are hundreds of other grassroots organisations similar to us out there doing their part to overcome this tremendous hurdle. This means there is a real opportunity for everyone to get involved in some way. As I have said before, all it takes is your decision to become involved. All you need do is make contact and ask the question – how can I help,? So what are you waiting for?