International Literacy And Development

ILAD PARTNERS TO DEVELOP LOCAL LANGUAGE LITERACY PROGRAMS COUPLED WITH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.

IN 2022, ILAD CONDUCTED ACTIVITIES IN 12 COUNTRIES. ILAD HAS PROGRAMS OPERATING IN LITERACY AND DEVELOPMENT IN 9 COUNTRIES. ILAD IS CONDUCTING LANGUAGE RESEARCH AND MARKET ANALYSIS IN 3 OTHER COUNTRIES; PROGRAM DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION WILL BEGIN ONCE THOROUGH RESEARCH IS COMPLETED.IN THE MIDDLE EAST, ILAD STAFF IS FOCUSED ON LITERACY AND LIFE-SKILLS EDUCATION AMONG AN OVERLOOKED, UNDERSERVED MINORITY LANGUAGE GROUP.MICRO ENTERPRISE: SEVEN WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS WERE INVOLVED IN CREATING AND RUNNING A JEWELRY MICRO-ENTERPRISE THAT PROVIDES STEADY, SUPPLEMENTAL INCOME FOR THEIR FAMILIES.LITERACY: USING THE ALPHABET CREATED AND TESTED IN 2021, THERE ARE CURRENTLY 2 LITERACY CLASSES BEING CONDUCTED FOR BOTH THE LOCAL LANGUAGE AND THE LANGUAGE OF WIDER USE. THE WOMEN'S CLASS IS BEING TAUGHT BY A LOCAL WOMAN TRAINED AS A LITERACY FACILITATOR.SOCIAL: FIVE MEN PARTICIPATED IN A SEMINAR TO LEARN HOW TO STRENGTHEN THEIR RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEIR WIVES AND CHILDREN.HEALTH: IN THE LAST QUARTER OF 2022, ILAD STAFF DISTRIBUTED 1.5 TONS OF VEGETABLES WEEKLY TO THE OVERLOOKED, UNDERSERVED MINORITY LANGUAGE GROUP OF 70 FAMILIES. A MEDICAL CLINIC WAS ALSO HELD FOR THIS COMMUNITY IN 2022.IN CENTRAL ASIA, ILAD CONTINUED CONDUCTING CLASSES FOR STUDENTS WISHING TO IMPROVE THEIR BUSINESS ENGLISH AND ENGLISH IN GENERAL. RELIEF: ILAD WAS ABLE TO HELP WITH BOTH FUNDING AND MEDICAL TRAINING FOR THE UKRAINIAN REFUGEES. AMONG OTHER THINGS, OVER 150+ FAMILIES WERE ASSISTED WITH FOOD/CASH ASSISTANCE, 10,000+ MEALS WERE PROVIDED FOR ROMA REFUGEES, 13 FAMILIES WERE ASSISTED WITH RELOCATION AND RESETTLEMENT, 2000+ POUNDS OF MEDICAL SUPPLIES WERE DISTRIBUTED TO HOSPITALS AND VOLUNTEER FIRST RESPONDERS, 75 UKRAINIAN VOLUNTEERS WERE TRAINED IN TACTICAL FIRST-AID, 500+ REFUGEES IN POLAND ASSISTED WITH DOCUMENTS OR TRANSLATION FOR TRAVEL. IN A DIFFERENT WEST AFRICA LOCATION, A GRAFTED CASHEW ORCHARD IS IN DEVELOPMENT AND 3 VILLAGES WERE EDUCATED IN THE BENEFITS OF GRAFTED CASHEW TREES. ONE VILLAGE ALSO RECEIVED PERENNIAL BEAN SEEDS TO BEGIN A GARDEN INITIATIVE TO PROVIDE FOR THEIR COMMUNITY.IN NORTH AFRICA AND THE ARABIAN PENINSULA, ILAD STAFF ARE IN VARIOUS STAGES OF LANGUAGE AND CULTURE RESEARCH, MARKET ANALYSIS, AND PROJECT DEVELOPMENT.

DALLAS, TEXAS, IS HOME TO A LARGE REFUGEE POPULATION, MANY OF WHOM SPEAK MINORITY LANGUAGES WITH NO ACCESS TO WRITTEN OR AUDIO TEXTS IN THEIR PRIMARY LANGUAGE. ILAD WORKS WITH THE ROHINGYA REFUGEE COMMUNITY IN THE AREAS OF ESL, LITERACY, CITIZENSHIP, AND HEALTH EDUCATION. ILAD IS ALSO INVOLVED IN PRESERVING AND PROMOTING THE ROHINGYA LANGUAGE AND IS CURRENTLY COLLECTING LANGUAGE DATA TO BE USED IN THE PRODUCTION OF A ROHINGYA DICTIONARY AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF APPS FOR SMARTPHONES AND COMPUTERS. ESL AND CITIZENSHIP: 40 ROHINGYA REFUGEE FAMILIES PARTICIPATED IN ESL AND/OR CITIZENSHIP CLASSES. 29 OF THOSE PARTICIPANTS WERE ELIGIBLE FOR AND PASSED THE US CITIZENSHIP EXAM. LITERACY AND EDUCATION: ILAD CREATED A YOUTUBE CHANNEL THAT HOSTS VIDEOS COVERING A VARIETY OF IMPORTANT TOPICS AS WELL AS ENGLISH LEARNING TOOLS ALL IN THE ROHINGYA LANGUAGE. THERE ARE OVER 1200 SUBSCRIBERS.HEALTH: IN 2022, ILAD CONTINUED DEVELOPING CURRICULUM TO ADDRESS PREVALENT HEALTH CONCERNS IN THE ROHINGYA COMMUNITY. A COMMUNITY WIDE SEMINAR WAS CONDUCTED REGARDING WOMEN'S HEALTH AND REPRODUCTION AND A VIDEO ADDRESSING DIABETES WAS PUBLISHED ON THE ROHINGYA YOUTUBE CHANNEL. BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT: IN 2022, ILAD, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OPPORTUNITIES NOW, LAUNCHED A BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT TRAINING CENTER AMONG ARABIC SPEAKING REFUGEES IN THE DALLAS/FORT WORTH AREA. THE ILAD DFW BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER (BDC) INCREASES THE DIGNITY AND WELL-BEING OF REFUGEES WHO WANT TO START BUSINESSES, THROUGH A PACKAGE OF CAPACITY-BUILDING GUIDANCE SERVICES DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR REFUGEES. PARTICIPANTS ACHIEVE FINANCIAL CONFIDENCE AND CREDIT-WORTHINESS, GET FUNDED, AND LAUNCH A BUSINESS WHICH PRODUCES REGULAR INCOME FOR THEIR HOUSEHOLD. IN 2022, ILAD BUILT THE BDC PROGRAM AND CHATBOT TOOL, SAW 17 REFUGEE CLIENTS BEGIN THE PROGRAM, 9 CREDIT BUILDING LOANS OFFERED, AND 1 CLIENT GO ON TO LAUNCH THEIR OWN BUSINESS, WITH THE REST ESTABLISHING THEIR CREDIT AND MOVING TOWARDS BUSINESS OWNERSHIP.

HUMAN LANGUAGE TECHNOLOGY: ILAD CONTINUED ADVANCING THE FIELD OF HUMAN LANGUAGE TECHNOLOGY THROUGH DATA COLLECTION, APP DEVELOPMENT, AND THE CREATION OF TRANSLATION DEVELOPMENT TOOLS, WITH THE GOAL OF PROVIDING ACCESS TO INFORMATION TO LOW-RESOURCE LANGUAGE COMMUNITIES THROUGH MACHINE TRANSLATION. CENTRAL ASIA: IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE RODDY SCOTT FOUNDATION, ILAD DEVELOPED AND ADAPTED TOOLS UTILIZING GOOGLE'S WOOLAROO APP TO LAUNCH A LANGUAGE PRESERVATION PROJECT AMONGST THE KIST. THIS LANGUAGE COLLECTION ACTIVITIES ARE LOCALLY-OWNED AND LOCALLY-LED. AND, BY THE END OF 2022, THE KIST THEN BEGAN SERVING AS TEACHERS AND TRAINERS FOR ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE COMMUNITIES WISHING TO START THEIR OWN WOOLAROO-BASED PROJECTS.SOUTHEAST ASIA: IN 2022, ILAD CONTINUED THE DEVELOPMENT OF A FOR-PROFIT LANGUAGE TECHNOLOGY CENTER CREATED TO EMPOWER UNDER-RESOURCED LANGUAGE COMMUNITIES TO PARTICIPATE IN THE GLOBAL EXCHANGE OF IDEAS AND INFORMATION. ONE DICTIONARY APP HAS BEEN DEVELOPED, AND LANGUAGE DATA IS BEING COLLECTED TO FACILITATE MACHINE TRANSLATION FROM A MINORITY LANGUAGE INTO A MAJORITY LANGUAGE.ASIA: IN 2022, ILAD STAFF, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH A LOCAL ENTITY, HAS DEVELOPED A MORPHOLOGICAL GENERATOR IN AN UNDER-RESOURCED LANGUAGE GROUP AND LANGUAGE DATA IS BEING COLLECTED TO FACILITATE MACHINE TRANSLATION FROM THIS LANGUAGE INTO A MAJORITY LANGUAGE.U.S.: ILAD IS ALSO INVOLVED IN PRESERVING AND PROMOTING THE ROHINGYA LANGUAGE, AND IS CURRENTLY COLLECTING LANGUAGE DATA TO BE USED IN THE PRODUCTION OF A ROHINGYA DICTIONARY AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF APPS FOR SMARTPHONES AND COMPUTERS. SINCE ROHINGYA HAS HISTORICALLY BEEN AN UNWRITTEN LANGAUGE, ESPECIALLY NOTABLE IS ILAD'S WORK TO DEVELOP AUTOMATED SPEECH RECOGNIZATION TOOLS AND CAPABILITIES, SO THAT LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT WORK CAN PROCEED IN TANDEM WITH ILAD'S LITERACY PROGRAMS IN THE COMMUNITY.

ILAD'S LONGEST RUNNING PROGRAMS ARE IN WEST AFRICA, WHERE ILAD STAFF ARE INVOLVED IN LITERACY, AGRICULTURAL TRAINING, SOCIAL BUSINESS, MICRO-FINANCE, AND EDUCATION. ILAD CONDUCTED THE FOLLOWING ACTIVITIES:LITERACY: IN 2022, ILAD INCREASED THE NUMBER OF MOBILE LIBRARIES FROM 15 TO 17, SERVING 750 MINORITY LANGUAGE SPEAKERS ACROSS TWO COUNTRIES. THREE SCHOOLS ALSO USE THE LITERATURE PROVIDED BY THESE LIBRARIES TO TEACH IN THE LOCAL LANGUAGE. IN ANOTHER WEST AFRICAN COUNTRY, 145 ADULT WOMEN ARE CURRENTLY IN A LOCAL LANGUAGE LITERACY PROGRAM DESIGNED FOR THOSE WHO COULD NOT READ OR WRITE IN ANY LANGUAGE. AGRICULTURAL TRAINING: OVER 1,500 LOCAL FARMERS HAVE ADOPTED THE INNOVATIVE ORGANIC PINEAPPLE PRODUCTION METHODS BEING TAUGHT ON ILAD'S SELF-SUSTAINING DEMONSTRATION FARM. MULTIPLE, VILLAGE-BASED, SMALL-FARM CO-OPS ARE TRAINED AND IN OPERATION. THE AGRICULTURE PROJECT INCLUDES TEACHING POND CULTURE TILAPIA RAISING, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY, AND CROP DIVERSIFICATION. IN 2022, 43 NEW CO-OPERATIVES WERE TRAINED IN ORGANIC PINEAPPLE FARMING AND 18 LOCAL FARMERS WERE TRAINED IN MULTIPLE FARMING AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY DISCIPLINES AT THE DEMONSTRATION FARM. THREE SIERRA LEONEANS SPENT 7 MONTHS RECEIVING TRAINING IN EVERY ASPECT OF ORGANIC PINEAPPLE PRODUCTION ON A LARGE SCALE. 23 YOUTH LEARNED HOW TO RAISE PIGS AND CREATE A BUSINESS OF PIG FARMING.SOCIAL BUSINESS: ILAD IS SUPPORTING THE CREATION OF LOCAL BUSINESSES TO PROVIDE FAIR MARKET PRICES FOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS. THESE BUSINESSES GENERATED OVER 70 FULL-TIME JOBS FOR LOCAL PEOPLE. IN 2022, A NEW SOCIAL BUSINESS WAS LAUNCHED THAT DRILLS WATER WELLS IN URBAN AREAS AND THEN PROVIDES WATER WELLS FOR FREE IN RURAL AREAS. THE RURAL COMMUNITIES ARE ALSO HELPED TO MAKE AND IMPLEMENT PLANS TO SERVICE, MAINTAIN, AND FINANCE THEIR NEW WELL FOR THE LONG TERM.BUSINESS EDUCATION: IN 2022, 2 COHORTS WERE TRAINED IN A BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER DESIGNED TO EQUIP THEM WITH KNOWLEDGE AND TOOLS TO RUN ETHICAL, PROFITABLE, RELEVANT BUSINESSES IN THEIR COMMUNITIES THAT PROVIDE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL BENEFITS. 11 BUSINESSES WERE SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED FROM THESE COHORTS AND 23 PEOPLE FIND THEIR LIVELIHOODS THROUGH THESE BUSINESSES. SEVERAL OF THE BUSINESSES ARE LOOKING TO ADD PEOPLE AS THEIR BUSINESS GROWS. MICROFINANCE: ILAD OFFERS FINANCIAL SERVICES SUCH AS SAVINGS AND MICRO LOANS THROUGH A RURAL AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. 707 PEOPLE ARE IN THE SAVINGS PLAN AND 36 NEW LOANS ($30,000) WERE GIVEN IN 2022, RESULTING IN A SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE IN INCOME FOR THE PARTICIPANTS. WHEN THE PROGRAM STARTED IN 2013, 5% OF THE FARMERS INVOLVED IN THE PROGRAM WERE LANDOWNERS AND AT THE END OF 2022, 23% OF THE FARMERS ARE LANDOWNERS. EDUCATION: IN 2022, ILAD WAS ALSO INVOLVED IN THE EXPANSION OF A JR./SR. SCHOOL IN A VILLAGE THAT FORMERLY COULD NOT PROVIDE EDUCATION BEYOND GRADE SCHOOL. THE JR./SR. SCHOOL ENROLLED OVER 110 STUDENTS WITH NEARLY HALF BEING GIRLS. THE 2022 PASSING RATE INTO HIGH SCHOOL FROM THE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL WAS 100%. THE TOP STUDENT IN THE COUNTRY WAS FROM THIS RURAL SCHOOL AND ANOTHER STUDENT WAS IN THE TOP 20 NATION-WIDE. THIS RURAL SCHOOL WAS CONSIDERED THE TOP SCHOOL IN THE REGION.