Getting to Know Your International Contacts- Part 3

     For this week's podcast assignment I chose to listen to episode 3 with Delfena Mitchell.  Ms. Mitchell runs the Liberty Children's Home in Belize.  I was shocked to learn that there is such a high rate of child abuse in this part of the world.  The story that she told about the boy named Joseph was heartbreaking.  This unfortunate child was the youngest of seven siblings; he would have to hide under his bed and eat so that other family members would not eat his food.  He came to the home after not speaking for more than a year.  Now the child is talking and interacting with his family at the home.  I think that the difference that this Children's home is making in the lives of these children is remarkable.  Hopefully these children will come to learn that there is hope for them and that not all people will treat them as they were once treated.
     The three new ideas and insights that I gained from exploring the UNESCO's website are:

1.  The Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) has developed an initiative that establishes goals for education on a global scale.  The main goals are the learn to know, learn to be, learn to live together and learn to do.
2. The Literacy Initiative For Empowerment (LIFE) is a program aimed at teaching people the skills needed to read.  Most of the people at which the initiative is aimed are females who are from rural areas.
3.  Thirty five of the world's countries have less than a 50% literacy rate.  The goal of the United Nations is to bring resources to these countries in an effort to help empower the people.  18 of these countries were in Africa.