YOU MAY NOT KNOW
Rich countries spend $4,000 on a student each year—developing countries spend $40.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, at least 40 million children are out of school—22 million are girls.
In South Asia, 36 million children are out of school—22 million are girls.
In the East Asia and Pacific regions, 12 million children are out of school—6 million are girls.
In the Arab states, there are 7.4 million children out of school—4.5 million are girls.
6 billion people are alive today in the world. 5 billion live in developing countries and most of them survive on less than a $1 a day.
1 billion people entered the 21st century unable to read or sign their name.
The cost of eradicating world poverty is estimated at 1 percent of the global income.
References: United Nations, UNESCO, World Bank
My name is Rana Madanat and I am the founder of Growing with Books. The inspiration for the foundation grew out of a visit to Jordan to visit my family in November 2006. One evening I asked my four-year-old nephew, Majed, to bring me a story to read to him before bed. He paused and looked at me as though he didn’t understand what I was talking about. The next morning, I asked my sister if the children had any books and if she read to them. She explained that there are no books for children under the age of seven in Jordanian public libraries. Moreover, there are no publicly funded early education programs for preschoolers.
When I returned to the United States, it haunted me that my niece and nephew were growing up without the opportunity to discover reading at a young age. While rearing my children in the United States, regular library visits were an integral part of our family life. Jordanian children—and children in other developing nations—have the same right. Every child deserves a storybook. Growing with Books was founded in May of 2007 with the mission of bringing books to children in these countries.
Education is the best way to end the cycle of poverty that prevents citizens in developing nations from meeting their basic needs—food and shelter. Growing with Books believes that the best hope for the future of these developing countries lies with providing education and access to information. Education begins with reading. It has been shown that children enrolled in early childhood development programs are more likely to enroll in primary school from the outset, to perform better, and to have lower dropout rates. Currently, there is a cultural misconception in countries like Jordan: Children do not need to begin to school before the age of seven. Providing access to books at a young age, Growing with Books will enrich the lives of young children and community members of today as well as those of future generations.