International Literacy Day

8 September 2022 is International Literacy Day

“The earlier the blind child starts to read, the better. Early literacy experiences create a solid foundation for learning.” League of Friends of the Blind (LOFOB) braille teacher, visually impaired since the age of four.

At LOFOB we promote a culture of reading for all. We believe that education is a right for every child, that literacy is the first step in education and that all children have the potential to learn.

Within our work in the early childhood development of blind and visually impaired children, literacy development starts at our very first engagements with our families who form part of our infant stimulation community programme. The child’s sensory, cognitive, conceptual, and language skills are enhanced through play, songs, rhymes, reading aloud, and pre-braille experiences. During the pre-school years, children as young as two participate in interactive small group and one-to-one literacy experiences. Pre-braille skills, accessing various print media including braille, tactile, audio, and large print books, letter knowledge and vocabulary are developed through exploration, excursions, theme-based, and active learning activities.

The theme of “transforming literacy learning spaces” this International Literacy Day, gives communities the opportunity to rethink the importance of literacy learning spaces, in order to build resilience and ensure quality, equitable and inclusive education for all.