Of these children 60% can neither read or write when they leave school. They are condemned to low wage employment (if it can be found) and a life of poverty, organised and petty crime, alcohol, drugs abuse, AIDs, prostitution and even pornography.
Earlier this year members of our Club visited the Schools involved in a special scheme that we are supporting to help improve things and they were very impressed with progress.
We were alerted to this problem by Rotarian Jean Millar and the late Bob Fenn who came to join our Club from the Rotary Club of Helderberg.
Since 2009 the Helderberg has been supporting a programme called "Literacy for All" based on books which enable the children to learn to read much quicker.
Two years ago the Rotary Club of Cambridge decided to support the scheme and has committed itself to spending £10,500 over three years to purchase special text books known as Kagiso Readers.
The group from our Club comprised Rotarians Ed Coe,Sally and Jim Stewart and Rosemary Turner together with spouses.
They gave us a spendid evening presentation on their return from South Africa which included subsequent holiday travels.
This just goes to show what Rotary can achieve.
Saying goodbye to one of the headmistresses
more 140 Rotarians and people from Cambridgeshire celebrate an evening to remember at St John's College in aid of the children and families of Syria and raise lots of money in the process!
more 25,000 crocuses will be planted in Queens' Green by the Cambridge Rotary Clubs on Thursday 10th November to support the Rotary campaign to rid the world of Polio
back A major activity is to team up with the Helderberg Sunrise Rotary Club of Stellenbosch with the aim of reducing the high levels of English language illiteracy in primary schools in the Cape Province of South Africa due to poor funding.