Our Mission

Literacy Through Reading

Have you heard of this expression: ‘This child has no time to read because she should study?’. It is an expression our team often hears from Bulgarians raising children.

We have been working in the field of literacy and reading promotion for many years. We are fully aware that it is impossible to gain knowledge without mastering the skill of reading, such as extracting and analyzing information from different sources to make decisions based on facts.

Our work builds on the significant achievements of our partner, the Children’s Books Foundation, by developing even better and more comprehensive solutions to support adults who raise or educate children aged 0 to 18.

Our main goal is to support children and young people in thinking critically, evaluating and analyzing information, searching for reliable sources, and making decisions based on scientific insights and facts, without falling victim to disinformation and propaganda.

Every Child Has The Right to Access Books And Knowledge

Children who develop their reading skills acquire information more effectively, gain greater background knowledge, and are better able to solve problems than their peers.

We believe that reading has the power to change the future of every child.

Our mission is to provide every child in Bulgaria with access to high-quality books and to support adults in raising lifelong readers.

Why literacy?

Literacy empowers people to become vital members of society by gaining a quality education, achieving career success, living balanced and healthy lives, and contributing to the development of both the environment and society.

Is it worth it for a society to invest in the development of literacy?

Here are our four reasons:  нашите 4 причини:

Children without Books

Many children lack access to books in their early years, with the first book they encounter often being the primer at school. This places them at a disadvantage from the start and hinders their chances of reaching their full potential.

Difficulties in Education

If children have limited background knowledge and underdeveloped vocabulary before starting school, they may struggle to acquire the curriculum. This can significantly reduce their chances of achieving successful careers as adults.

Unfulfilled Potential

People who experience difficulties in school often struggle to build successful careers. This can lead to living on the margins of society and facing emotional challenges. Individuals with unfulfilled potential are more vulnerable to misinformation and manipulation, which undermines the foundations of society.

Hand It Down?

Functional illiteracy can be handed down to the next generation, as children not only adopt their parents’ attitudes but also grow up in environments where their parents have unfulfilled potential and are unable to recognise the workings of the vicious cycle.

  • Illiterate and functionally illiterate individuals lack the well-developed skills needed to acquire and evaluate information. They:
    • lack high-quality education;
    • struggle to obtain a suitable job;
    • are living on the margins of society;
    • are seeking quick fixes for their needs at a higher price.
  • All of this makes them more susceptible to addictions and manipulation.
  • Illiterate and functionally illiterate individuals are prone to:
    • unfair wages
    • gender inequalities
    • discrimination
  • People living in poverty often pass it down to their children. If the vicious cycle of functional illiteracy is broken, it could lead to an end to poverty. Otherwise, these issues will continue to be passed on to future generations.
  • Illiterate and functionally illiterate individuals often have underdeveloped critical thinking skills.
    • They make decisions based on their inner beliefs or external pressure, easily becoming victims of manipulation.
  • Functional illiteracy poses a threat to national security by creating opportunities for the spread of disinformation, which in turn leads to reduced economic growth, increased corruption, and a lack of trust in institutions.

Illiterate and functionally illiterate individuals face difficulties in all areas of social life, often passing down their experiences to their children.

Good news is that the vicious cycle of the functional illiteracy can be broken!

Our Solutions