Building a New Society Through Education

For the first time in El Salvador’s history, the government is providing children with uniforms, school materials, and a daily meal, while at the same time combating illiteracy among adults. Since 2010, the Ministry of ducation has eradicated illiteracy in six municipalities and hopes to declare El Salvador’s illiteracy rate to be 4 percent or less by 2014. This summer, CISPES accompanied the National Literacy Program for three weeks – visiting dozens of community literacy circles, promoting the program on local and national media, and helping conduct a literacy census – as the first international volunteer brigade to answer the government’s call and support the literacy program. Twenty-eight university students, teachers, workers, mothers, and retirees participated in this historic literacy brigade, bringing hundreds of donated notebooks, pencils and eyeglasses in tow as material support.

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