This Wednesday, September 8, 2010 will be celebrated the 43rd International Literacy Day, organized by the Secretariat of State for Literacy (Secrétairerie d’État à l'Alphabétisation SEA) and UNESCO in collaboration with the Ministry of Women Affairs and Women's Rights around the topic "Alfabetizasyon, yon pouvwa nan lavi Fanm yo" (literacy, a power in women's lives). The Haitian authorities and the persons in charge of UN will give homage to qualities of the woman to their crucial role in the elimination of illiteracy in Haiti, because of their position "Fanm poto mitan" (the woman is the center pole).

Illiteracy constitutes one of the main brakes to the development in Haiti and concerns more than 57% of the Haitian population made up of 52% of women of which 42% are illiterate. Activities of sensitizing near the women will be held in three camps of displaced people (Tabarre-Issa, Coral-Cesselesse and Léogane). These activities aim at the promotion of the training of the writing and will include workshops with trainers presenting to the women a audio-visual method of elimination of illiteracy.

The day before this 43rd International Literacy Day, Carol Joseph, the Secretary of State declared that the last literacy campaign was a failure [?] reproaching the government for not having kept to its commitments by not granting all the financial resources necessary [although the literacy campaign launched in 2007 made it possible to learn how to read and write with nearly 40.000 people, according to the figures communicated by the Secretariat of State]

For Carol Joseph, "the Elimination of illiteracy must integrate a program of social security in order to be able to produce better results [...] only the true means to slow down illiteracy is schooling'.

BF/HaitiLibre