Literacy Program Fund

Break the Bondage
of Illiteracy

Can you imagine being 12, entering into junior high, and not being able to write your own name? You have never read a book before. You are illiterate. You flee war, violence, and finally reach physical safety in America, only to enter a new school with no friends and no way to communicate. This is the story of several illiterate refugee children here in Charlotte.

This is Jawad’s STory

Jawad’s single mother (pictured left/above) had fled from the Syrian Civil War to Jordan when he was 3 years old. He spent 9 years with his mother and two siblings in Jordan, waiting to be resettled. A year before they arrived in the U.S., Jawad was kidnapped and abused. His mother began frequently calling the United Nations to get out of Jordan, which was now not safe for her family. It was in the following months that our organization welcomed Jawad’s family at the Charlotte airport. Seeking to be Jesus’ love, hands, and feet, we resettled Jawad’s family in Pineville, NC.

Jawad began attending Quail Hollow Middle School after his arrival. Sadly, after 7 months, he still could not write or fully say the English alphabet. Jawad could not read a text message or an email. What if someone lies to him about what is written? How easily could someone take advantage of him? To be illiterate is to be in an incredibly vulnerable place.

Donations that Multiply Change

South Charlotte Baptist Academy has agreed to share a classroom space to teach Jawad. With these funds, we will hire an ESL tutor and use this opportunity to develop a replicable literacy program for other illiterate children in Charlotte. This investment will also produce a replicable literacy program that we plan to use to help several illiterate Afghan women, who are also in an intensely vulnerable place due to their illiteracy.