Reading can save lives
READING isn’t just for bedtime stories. It can save lives.
Imagine it’s the middle of the night. Your child screams in pain. Desperate to calm them down, you reach for the medicine. But you panic. The instructions mean nothing and you. You don’t know how to read. Literacy is a simple skill that we rely on every day, and, in our most desperate moments, is crucial for survival. However, for many young women in rural Uganda, life without literacy is devastating.
Almost half of women in Uganda are unable to read – robbed of an education by poverty, early pregnancy or child marriage. For vulnerable young women mothers, this means a struggle to understand health and childcare information, make important everyday decisions or earn enough for their family.
Heartbreakingly, many won’t be able to support their children’s own education – so they will repeat the same vicious cycle as they grow-up.
But it doesn’t have to be like this. Why? Because when a mother can read, her child is 50 per cent more likely to live past five years old. That’s the impact of reading.
Build Africa, the education charity which I am proud to be a patron of, is working with over 2,000 young women – supporting them to learn life-changing literacy and numeracy skills and access valuable health and nutrition services, so they can help their children not just survive but succeed.
When we teach a mum to read, she has the power to re-write the story for her children. And, with the generous support of your readers, we can do something wonderful for young women in Uganda this Christmas.
Those wishing to donate can visit www.build-africa.org/youngmums or call 01892 519619. Every donation received before December 27 will be matched pound-for-pound with UK Aid from the UK Government Dame Penelope Wilton, actress and patron of Build Africa