Happy International Literacy Day! As part of a larger month-long celebration, Phi Kappa Phi embraces the event's goal of drawing attention to the importance of literacy. The Society will devote the month to literacy awareness, including shining a spotlight on some of our 2020 Literacy Grant recipients.

The first project we're highlighting is The Student Success Center Project: Helping Every Child Succeed Educationally led by Dr. Liberatus J. Rwebugisa, of the University of Nevada, Reno. Inaugurated in 2019, the SSC Project fosters student success in rural northwest Tanzania. As a two-time Literacy Grant recipient in both 2019 and 2020, the purpose of the project is to help primary school students build and sustain strong academic skills in language, math and science through access to free books and tutoring/mentoring. The grant also helped purchase textbooks and renovate the library at the Kagondo A Primary School.

To begin the tutoring portion of the program, volunteers worked with small groups of students over the course of several months. While pre-test scores showed a 31% passing rate among students, a follow-up test showed a drastic improvement with a 98% passing rate. Thanks to the success, the project was expanded to include a wider range of grade levels with older students returning to tutor younger ones.

The grants also helped fund the purchase of 125 books and provided supplies needed to renovate the school building and library. More than 70 volunteers, including community members and students, worked on the construction and renovation.

Rwebugisa's project report to Phi Kappa Phi states, "We believe that talent is universal, but opportunity is not." Phi Kappa Phi is proud to support this project and many more to increase literacy opportunities and initiatives inspired by our members.

Click here to learn more about our Literacy Grants today.

Photos provided by Liberatus Rwebugisa – Ongoing pictures of the school building, from left, show the progress before, during and after the renovations funded in part by two Phi Kappa Phi Literacy Grants.