Do you remember what it was like to take your seat on your very first day in school, bright eyed and bushy tailed—eager to please?
Imagine, if you will, that once the teacher had gotten your class settled she had turned to you and your classmates and said, “Bonvolu malfermi viajn librojn.”
Imagine she stared at you. Expectant. Waiting…
In June, SIL LEAD Executive Director Christof Weber had the opportunity to attend the last few days of a materials development workshop in Bacolod City, in the Philippines.
The workshop focused on developing decodable readers in the Sinugbuanong Binisaya language, for Grade 1 students in Negros Occidental as part of the USAID-funded Philippines Advancing Basic Education (ABC+) project led by RTI International…
Read MoreWe’re so thrilled that Bloom has its first Deaf certified trainer that we’re tempted to jump in with several long, enthusiastic paragraphs about it.
But since our goal is to give people the tools to speak for themselves (and since our very first deaf certified Bloom trainer is such a wonderful communicator and a joyous person to experience), here’s Lisseth…
Read MoreThe country of Afghanistan currently faces major, major challenges.
Decades of conflict have left a legacy of economic and sociopolitical turmoil. Covid 19 and political turnover have worsened the situation to the point where famine now looms.
And although issues of this enormity require investment from multiple players at all levels, we at SIL LEAD believe that one of the best ways to heal Afghanistan’s wounds in a sustainable and long-term way is through education…
Read MoreCan you define the word “dictionary” in just a few words, without using a dictionary?
It’s not as easy or as simple as it seems. There are several types of dictionaries—and even a little debate about what “counts” as a dictionary. For most of us, it’s hard to imagine a world in which a hefty dictionary isn’t within easy reach, on the shelf or in the phones in our pockets.
And yet…
Read MoreOften in development work the approach can be very outside-in, where outsiders come into a community and dictate the sort of work that will be done, then micromanage that work to ensure that the outsider’s goals are achieved. But one of the most satisfying aspects of SIL LEAD’s approach is that we work hard to keep the focus inside-out. In fact, it’s baked into our DNA, with our stated goal of helping local, community-based organizations use their own language to improve their quality of life…
Read MoreThat’s a big title right there, and a question with an oversized philosophical pedigree. Especially considering that what we’re going to talk about in this post isn’t philosophy at all… it’s a relatively small literacy program in the Western province of Papua New Guinea (PNG), a country that many people probably couldn’t even circle on a map. Bear with us, though…
Read MoreThe poet Walt Whitman famously wrote, “I contain multitudes.” And as we attempt to honor the memory of Hazel Large, this fact becomes our stumbling block. How do you remember someone, when every person is so much more than even the sum of their multitudinous parts…
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