Delta Phi
Omega 2013 Literacy Through Unity Week: About Nishtha-Jagaran:
The overall goal of the project is to provide mainstream education to 200 children at risk from 4 villages of South 24 Parganas district, West Bengal and empower them with adequate knowledge, information and training. In the remote village Baikunthapur of South 24 Parganas girl children and women were often deserted and became victims of exploitation, torture and violence. The condition of the children, particularly the girl children was equally distressing. Very few of them could get chance to go to school. In the year 1974 five women of this village were thrown out of their in-laws' house and two other women committed suicide driven by the torture in their in-laws house. This prompted Mrs. Pritilata Das and some other sensitive women to form a group called NISHTHA. Their aim is to empower women and children. NISHTHA, a registered NGO located in West Bengal, India, has over 35 years of program experience in the areas of health and hygiene, women and girl empowerment, legal advocacy, water resource installation and maintenance, vocational support, and education for sustainable agriculture. NISHTHA supports over 250 villages in rural West Bengal and has recently expanded its programming into Bhutir Char, a region of very poor and desperate victims displaced from their homes by the shifting course of the Ganges River.
To learn more about the organization, please visit Nishtha-Jagaran
Delta Phi Omega is proud to announce Asha for Education as the 2013 Literacy Through Unity Week Beneficiary. Funds Raised this year by our schools will be put towards one of their current projects Nishtha-Jagaran. To learn more about this organization, please visit our Supported Organizations page.
Being able to read and write is fundamental to be able to function
more effectively in life and participate in the transformation of a society.
Illiteracy contributes to a destructive vicious cycle of poverty. It is our
mission to end this cycle through children's education.
Literacy is just the first step to self-determination; it is an important instrument
for individual progress, social change, and is essential for continued economic
growth. The most recent statistics are disheartening. The overall literacy rate
in India is 65%, with a female literacy rate of 54%. The bottom line is that literacy is a fundamental
human right that can foster change in poverty stricken and underprivileged areas.
The eradication of widespread illiteracy is an essential requirement for promoting
democracy and stepping up national and social development. With our combined
efforts, together we can help advance the idea that "Knowledge is Power."
In
our philanthropic efforts, we will be holding our annual "Literacy
Through Unity" week dedicated to raise awareness about children's education
and literacy, as well as raising monetary funds through a week of events in
February 2009 by each chapter or colony at their respective universities and
cities. In 2007 and 2008, we were able to raise over $28,000. The funds we raise will be given
to local charitable organizations affiliated with each corresponding chapter or colony,
as well as to our national Literacy Through Unity Week beneficiary.
Click on the following images to view fliers from various chapters and colonies:
Please support your local Delta Phi Omega Sorority chapter or colony in reaching
its goal and supporting its effort to abolish illiteracy!
If you are interested in being a corporate sponsor for this event, please
contact us at dpo.nationalcouncil@gmail.com .