A book sale at Lefkoşa’s Café Bi Mola today is the first in a series of events aimed at raising funds to provide literacy lessons for women with little or no education. The Become a Letter for Each Woman project is an initiative by the Cyprus Young Women’s Association.
Open between 2pm and 5pm, the free-entry book sale will feature a talk by Turkish Cypriot author Dr Filiz Besim based on her book Why Do I Write? Why Do I Read? and and English-language presentation on the importance of foreign language in Cyprus by Syrian linguist Professor Thana Hmidani. The association is due to meet government officials to seek support in collection data on women who are most in need of reading and writing lessons. In stage one of the project, the association plans to survey state schools to see how many mothers to students require the lessons. The survey is to begin in Lefkoşa before moving to other areas.
Speaking about the long-term project, head of the association Hatiç Kürşad said: “Our association is made up of a majority of women who work in the education field, which is why we decided to take on this mission to provide women from each section of the community, whether they are refugees, from abroad or local, with a chance to communicate with a wider community.
“Through education they missed out on – whether because they ever had a chance to go to school, or left when at primary, secondary or high school – they can even look for work. Lessons such as English reading and writing will also be offered.”
By Yasemin Gülpinar for Cyprus Today
