The United States Celebrates International Literacy Day by Committing $13 million to Expand Family Literacy in Egypt

In honor of International Literacy Day, the U.S. Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), announced $13 million (EGP 250 million) in new funding to expand one of its most successful literacy programs, Literate Village, to the governorate of Beni Suef—the fifth governorate to receive such funding. The program builds on $26 million (EGP 500 million) in earlier U.S. support to the program, which to date has reached nearly 60,000 students in 1,935 community schools with early grade reading instruction, reading materials, teacher trainings, and reading camps. Beyond the classroom, the program also aims to develop a culture of literacy, education, and self-sufficiency by teaching mothers to read and write and by providing them with skills and job training to support themselves and their children. 

Commenting on the importance of the program’s expansion, USAID Mission Director Leslie Reed said, “With this new funding, we look forward to expanding the intergenerational literacy program to Beni Suef. This program is part of the U.S. Government’s long-standing commitment to supporting education in Egypt.” 

Since 2017, the Literate Village program has operated in the governorates of Assiut, Beheira, Sohag, and Minya, and also worked to develop a network of community leaders to encourage school attendance, promote a love of reading, and help children thrive. With this new funding, the program will also introduce a climate change awareness component into the curriculum and, along with the Ministry of Education and Technical Education, provide community schools in rural areas with equipment, infrastructure, and training to expand their digital learning resources. 

Since 1978, the U.S. Government has invested over $1.7 billion (EGP 32.5 billion) to support education in Egypt. To learn more about the U.S.-Egypt partnership visit: www.usembassy.gov and https://www.usaid.gov/egypt and follow @USEmbassyCairo and @USAIDEgypt on Facebook and Twitter. 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of U.S. Embassy in Egypt.

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