Liberia Education Program Targets Illiterate Women

利比里亚针对文盲妇女的教育项目

From VOA Learning English, this is the Education Report.

这里是美国之音慢速英语教育报道。

A United Nations agency estimates that 516 million of the world's women can not read and write. The U.N. Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization -- UNESCO says programs are needed to help illiterate women learn, although they are passed school age.

联合国教科文组织预计全球有5.16亿妇女不会读写。该组织表示，虽然她们都已经过了上学年龄，但还是需要推出一些项目来帮助文盲妇女学习。

Women make up two-thirds of all illiterate adults. The majority of these women live in West Africa, many girls in that area never go to school. But in Liberia, a new education program is giving women in their 30s, 40s and 50s another chance to learn to read and write.

妇女占到了所有成年文盲的2/3，这些妇女中的大部分人居住在西非，该地区很多女孩没上过学。但在利比里亚，一项新的教育计划给了三十到五十多岁的妇女第二次机会来学习读写。

Pauline Rose heads UNESCO's worldwide monitoring report on Education for All, she says being illiterate causes huge problems in daily life. She notes situations like not being able to read directions on a medicine bottle, or the number on a bus.

宝琳·罗丝（Pauline Rose）负责联合国教科文组织的全民教育全球监测报告。她表示，在日常生活中，作为文盲会造成巨大的问题。她指出了一些状况，例如不能阅读药瓶上的说明或公交车上的数字。

"So there are real practical concerns about when women are illiterate."

她说，“因此当妇女是文盲时就会有实际的担忧。”

Miss Rose says illiterate affects not only the women but also their families, because women are often the main caregivers of children. She says when women are illiterate, they are less likely to use health services.

罗丝表示，文盲影响的不仅是妇女，还包括他们的家庭。因为妇女通常是儿童的主要照顾着。她说，当妇女是文盲时，她们就不太可能使用医疗服务。

Some countries, like Senegal, have improved women's literacy rates through government efforts. They tell more girls in primary school and community programs about the importance of education. But there are still many nations where less than one in four women can read and write. They include Niger, Benin, Mali and Burkina Faso.

一些国家，像塞内加尔已经通过政府的努力提高了妇女的识字率。他们告诉小学和社区项目中更多女孩关于教育的重要性。但仍然有许多国家只有不到1/4的妇女会读写。这些国家包括尼日尔、贝宁、马里和布基纳法索。

Miss Rose says these countries need literacy programs that target women. She says there is a huge need for illiterate young women and adults to have a second-chance to read and write.

罗丝表示，这些国家需要针对妇女的扫盲项目。她表示，青年和成人文盲妇女在获得学习读写机会方面有巨大的需求。

Liberia for example, has launched a second-chance literacy campaign to teach women. The students never went to school, or they were forced to leave school because of ten years of civil war in the country.

例如利比里亚已经推出了教育妇女的二次扫盲运动。由于该国十来年的内战，这些学生没上过学，或者被迫离开了学校。

Lonee Smith is 35 years old, she is a student at the adult literacy school at the Firestone Liberia Natural Rubber Company in Margibi County. Her parents did not sent her to school, and she could not read or write.

斯密斯（Lonee Smith）现年35岁，她是马吉比州费尔斯通利比里亚天然橡胶公司成年扫盲学校的一名学生。她父母没有送她上学，她不会读和写。

Now she is in the first grade and has those skills. She sells her goods at the market and can now count her profit without help. She says having a second chance at education has changed her life.

现在她在读一年级，学会了读和写。她在超市售货，现在她可以在无人帮助的情况下自己计算利润。

"Today, I am a happy woman. I'm very proud."

她说，“今天我是个快乐的女人，我非常骄傲。”

Liberia's Ministry of Education says 5,000 women currently study in adult literacy programs across the country.

利比里亚教育部表示，目前有5千名妇女在全国各地的扫盲项目中学习。

And that's the Education Report.