2009 News Highlights

Beneficiary of Global Literacy’s Work in Kenya Reflects on His Quest Towards a PhD

March 6, 2009. Osia Odula has a dramatic story to tell.

As he visited with GLP volunteers in New Jersey on a late winter Friday he reflected upon the series of events that took him from a life of poverty in western Kenya to a Masters/PhD program at Clemson University in South Carolina.

Osia grew up in an extremely poor family headed by his mother who single handedly looked after the six children. From an early age Osia was precocious and showed a hunger for learning. However, it at first appeared that this hunger would go unappeased. The only school he had access to had a dirt floor and used large rocks and stones to supplement as desks and chairs for the students. More…

Noted Author Brings African American History and Culture Alive

February 9, 2009.- Noted author Denise Lewis Patrick joined the Global Literacy Project in celebrating the African American Read In during the month of February. She held a reading at GLP’s partner school, Chatham Day School (CDS), which was enthusiastically received.

GLP also sent copies of her books to CDS’ South African partner school, Thabisile Primary School. Students from both schools are going to write their reflections on the stories they’ve read together.

Author Talks About the Challenge of Expressing Ideas

Inaugural Lecture at GLP’s Grace Wilday School Library

February 19, 2009.- Author Marcus Reeves has written about youth culture and politics for over 16 years. He is the author of Somebody Scream! Rap Music’s Rise to Prominence in the Aftershock of Black Power.

His visit to the Grace Wilday Junior High School in New Jersey marked a week of events celebrating the new library created through a partnership between the Global Literacy Project and the Grace Wilday community.

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Journalist/Human Rights Activist to Speak at Grace Wilday Jr High School

Natalie Jesionka a journalist and human rights activist will be the next speaker at the Grace Wilday library. She will talk about how she ended up teaching English to monks hidden in the Thai jungles amongst other topics.

The program will be held on Friday, April 3rd, 2009.

Far Hills Country Day School 5th Grade Makes “Classroom Connections”

February 13, 2009.-The fifth grade at Far Hills Country Day School invited representatives from Global Literacy Project to talk about the programs and people that GLP works with in the Johannesburg High Literacy Cluster.

FHCDS is currently piloting a “Classroom Connections” program where they are selecting poems and stories that they plan to read aloud and record. They will then send the printed stories along with the recordings to their “neighbor” classroom in South Africa.