Educational Cooperation Programme
LRC Network
SMILE Asia Project
"SMILE Asia Project"
(Supporting Maternal and Child Health Improvement and Building Literate Environment)
According to the UNESCO's EFA Monitoring Report 2007, there were then 781 million adult illiterates in the world, of whom 500 million were women. In the Asia-Pacific region, 524 million adults are illiterate and more than 60% of them are women.
It is widely recognised that if the female literacy rate is low, the infant and maternal mortality rate tends to be high due to the lack of access to knowledge about basic health care and the insufficient health services for mothers and children.
Parents, especially mothers, have great influence on the educational and health conditions of their children, and it is expected that the improvement of women's literacy will lead to the improvement of education and health of their children and family members as well as that of the future generations.
As a model project for literacy for women by the ACCU-LRC network, ACCU is implementing the "SMILE Asia Project" in six countries, which is designed to improve both the literacy environment and the health of mothers and their children.
This year, ACCU is organising "Asian Beauty SMILE ASIA PROJECT by ACCU with ASIENCE" in Cambodia, Indonesia and Philippines.
The project is organised with the contribution from ASIENCE brand.
- Development of literacy curriculum on the theme of maternal and child health
- Training for project managers and facilitators of literacy classes for coordinating with health institutions/workers
- Collection and development of literacy materials on the theme of maternal and child health
- Conducting literacy classes in combination with primary health care for mothers and children at CLCs, health centres, etc.
- Providing a gift package for learners after giving birth or completing the literacy course. Gift package may contain an alphabet poster, a laminated poster with child's photo and a message for the child written by learners, a set of picture books for children, a set of reading materials containing useful information for neo-literates, etc.
- Setting up a small library or reading corner inside CLCs, health centres, etc.
