Improving literacy and numeracy in indigenous communities
Several Rotary Clubs and Districts in Australia and the USA came together to help improve the exposure to reading and counting in the home environment of pre-school children in Yarrabah, Far North Queensland
Yarrabah is one of the most disadvantaged communities in Australia and suffers from very low levels of literacy and numeracy amongst both children and adults.
A critical issue has been that so many children entering the primary school system have had very low exposure to reading and counting in the home environment, putting them at a serious disadvantage. This problem tends to persist throughout their time at school and this often results in children leaving the education system early, perpetuating the cycle.
Several Rotary Clubs and Districts in Australia and the USA, led by Cairns Trinity, came together to create a project that would help break this cycle, by providing a pathway into the homes of pre-school children.
The project budget was A$100,000 and this was reached when The Rotary Foundations provided a Global Grant of about A$50,000.
It’s still early days but the team is very confident of achieving significant long term improvements in educational and social outcomes in this community.
Support Rotary to change lives and improve communities through basic education and literacy
