Giving meaning to consumerism

A group of women from Gulabgarh—among them students of the W.L.P., accompanied by the project chairman—have set up a stand to exhibit their handcrafted designs at a 10-day-long craft fair in Jaipur, organized by the Rajasthan Rural Non-Farm Development Agency in association with the Indian Council for Cultural relations (ICCR). Craftsmen and craftswomen from 18 different Indian states signed up to participate in the event held at Jawahar Kala Kendra.

A growing awareness of the value of their traditions, culture and know-how are what led these women to set up a stand at the Jaipur fair. Back in their village, selling their hand knitted socks and other crafts will also help them to complement the family budget.

We hope that the W.L.P. has contributed in some way to the women’s appreciation of what they are able to design and create and in increasing their entrepreneurship and sense of worth.

The Gulabgarh group’s participation in the fair also demonstrates what initiatives such as the “comercio justo” (fair market) and others have shown: that it is possible to reconcile solidarity with consumption.

About Us

Perhaps you've been wondering how this project works, who funds it, how you can help? Well, now you can download our "About Us" newsletter with lots of information about the W.L.P. and about what you can do to help this education initiative to continue.

AboutW.L.P_English

Why focus our efforts on increasing female literacy?

We'd like to share an insightful quote with you:
"When people are able to believe that they can improve their lives through their own efforts, when they realize that some newly created opportunity is denied to them by illiteracy, then they will learn how to read, write and count."

Edgar Owens And Robert Shaw, Development Reconsidered: bridging the gap between government and People

Illiteracy in India

Interesting article published on "The Viewspaper" website.

Image source: The Viewspaper.net

Ever tried writing Devanagari script?

Becoming literate in India means having to study both the English alphabet and Devanagari script. Are you willing to give Devanagari script a try? I am and that's how I discovered this great page: Devanagari Script Tutor.
Of course, in the remote village of Gulabgarh, there is still no access to the Internet, so the students learn to write the old fashioned way, with pencil and paper.

Thank you!

This is a homage to all those who have helped this project become a reality. Thank you for having taken a few moments of your lives to reflect on the lives of a group of women in far off India. Thank you for helping with whatever you were able to contribute to make literacy, dignity and self-esteem a reality for them. Thank you for trying to make their lives--their world--better.
Thank you: Andrea, Engracia, Esperanza, Fernando O., Gonzalo, Isabel, Lola, Sabela, Teresa, staff of the EOI de Santiago and all the other sponsors who prefer to remain anonymous.

Now that the project is a reality, we need to work hard to help it continue to be one.

Maria's story

I spent this past summer in India, volunteering once again in the village of Gulabgarh. During a very pleasant summer evening, a group of men and women gathered together in the home where I was staying.

There had been many weddings this year in the village, and it is customary for people who were not able to attend the celebration, to later organize a family reunion in their own home to honor the parents of the newlyweds.

As a sponsor of the W.L.P., I was asked to address the ladies who had not yet enrolled in the project, to try to encourage them to do so. I decided to tell these women the story of my grandmother--with the help of Tashi Chering, of course!

I was only 5 when I moved with my parents to the U.S., where I grew up, so I remember very little really about what life was like then for women in the small fishing village called Caión, located in the northwestern corner of Spain. I do know, however, that it wasn’t easy. In Galicia—that’s the name of our region—women used to be taught from a very early age how to take care of a home, a family, work the land, everything except how to care for themselves. In fact, they usually completely forgot about themselves, including their own education. If this was still true in the 1960s and 70s, can you imagine what it must have been like for the women of my grandmother’s generation?

My grandmother Maria was born in 1902 in a tiny, isolated village of Galicia, called Lendo. She was incredibly strong and tenacious, an intelligent and adventurous woman whose dream had always been to travel to Buenos Aires. There were no schools back then in these areas, but Maria was determined to educate herself. She learned to read and write on her own so that she could understand the letters that her brothers’ sent to her from Argentina.

So, this self-taught young woman eventually became a sort of local scrivener who would help her neighbors by reading them the letters they received form their loved ones, immigrants in far off Argentina or even the U.S.  During the Spanish civil war, she read and then wrote the replies of the mothers, wives or fiancées of the men who had gone to war.

These readings gathered neighbors and family together in my great-grandparents’ home, where they sometimes shed tears and others laughs about what was recounted in those letters! After the readings my grandmother would write her neighbors’ replies for them. Knowing how to read and write was obviously important for my grandmother, a woman who lived through such tragic events as the Spanish Civil War and the post-war period.

I don’t know whether Maria’s story finally inspired these women, but their success stories certainly motivate me. They encourage me to keep sponsoring this project that I am so enthusiastic about.

In later posts I'd like to tell our readers the inspiring stories that I heard about the women of the WLP.

The future of these women, the future of this emerging economy that is India depends on the development of isolated, rural communities such as this one. Hopefully, this nation will one day proudly claim that its literacy rate has reached one hundred percent.

Study: Women's Literacy in India Falling Further Behind

More than two-thirds of the world's 793 million illiterate adults (two-thirds of them women) are found in only eight countries and India is one of them. If the second most populated nation on Earth is to assume its role as a world economic leader, before becoming digitally or financially literate it must eradicate adult illiteracy.

In today’s information society, education is the driving force behind a strong economic and social development. Unfortunately, according to results of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) conducted by the OECD, the largest emerging markets in the world—the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China)—may be losing educational ground against the so-called FICS (Finland, Ireland, South Korea and Sweden).

Things look greener on the China side of the fence. The Asian giant is said to be “winning the school race”, coming in first in recent PISA studies. India, by contrast, is leading the BRICs in digital exclusion, partly due to adult illiteracy. Most Indians cannot afford or access ICTs and lack the education to use them effectively. While European economies, hard hit by the global crisis, are working to raise their citizens’ financial and digital literacy, this high-growth economy is faced with another challenge.

 Statistics show that illiteracy and poor economies go hand in hand. The state of Bihar—India’s poorest—has the lowest women’s literacy rate in the nation. Values are lower in rural areas than in urban ones. In Jammu & Kashmir, a largely agricultural state, only 41.82% of its women are literate.

Read more: Study: Women's Literacy in India Falling Further Behind (technorati.com)

Women's Literacy Project

Adult illiteracy is not something that should be taken for granted, as alarming statistics reveal:  More than two-thirds of the world's 793 million illiterate adults (two-thirds of them women) are found in only eight countries and India is one of them.

Unfortunately, statistics also show that illiteracy and poor economies go hand in hand. The state of Bihar—India’s poorest—has the lowest women’s literacy rate in the nation. Values are lower in rural areas than in urban ones. In Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), a largely agricultural state, only 41.82% of its women are literate.

Education is the driving force behind strong economic and social development in today’s information society. India must then strive to eradicate adult illiteracy all together, focusing specifically on abolishing female illiteracy.

Why should this be a specific major goal for the Indian authorities? As one of the founding members of the Women’s Literacy Project says, “In India, when you educate a man you are educating an individual, but when you educate a woman, you are educating an entire community.”

The Women’s Literacy Project of Gulabgarh, a village in the district of Paddar, state of J&K was created in November, 2010 by Mr. Tashi Chering, to eradicate female illiteracy in the area.

Thanks to the generous contribution of concerned citizens from abroad, the chairman of the project, Mr. Tashi Chering, is able to rent a room, hire a teacher and purchase school supplies. So far there are about 25 female students taking time off their family and home to learn to read and write in Hindi and English and the number will hopefully increase.

Obviously, part of the effort must be centered on raising the population’s awareness regarding women’s literacy. Literacy gives women self-confidence, thus increasing their participation in decision-making processes. It heightens social consciousness and increases the chances at success of the literate women’s daughters.

A year after the project launch, awareness of the advantages of literacy has evidently grown. What is more, the students’ children are thrilled with their mothers’ desire for self-improvement and their increased self-esteem. Simple, but inspiring success stories speak for themselves:

Before the project began, one of the students was helping out at her husband’s shop. Now that she is able to read, write and do basic arithmetic, she has set up her own small business. Still another woman told the project chairman how delighted she was now that she is able to read signs to guide her through the hospital, when visiting a sick family member.

Endeavors such as the W.L.P. Gulabgarh lend support to government initiatives by introducing personal, focused actions in remote rural districts. Women who learn collectively can begin working collectively towards becoming a vital force in the growing economic and technological power that is India.

Your support can keep this project going. Please help the women of Gulabgarh to improve their role in society and put an end to gender-based discrimination. For more information contact Mr. Tashi Chering at lonpoadv@gmail.com or visit his webpage at http://www.lonpoadventures.com