iLearn4Free

In many developing countries around the world illiteracy rates are high, conditions may make it difficult for children to attend school,  and poverty restricts the purchases of educational media and learning aides.  However, the percentage of people who own cell phones is drastically increasing in these places.  Here's a great article about How Mobile Technology is a Game Changer for Developing Africa.

~on a visit to a South African classroom, 2003~

It is with this information that my neighbor came to me last July and introduced her vision.  She desired to establish a non-profit organization (iLearn4Free) aimed at producing cellphone game applications which could aide in teaching children around the world how to read, and in affect fight ignorance and poverty (hear her explain it here). She asked me to create a structure for learning how to read english in hopes that other languages could follow the basic format.  Long having had a passion for Africa and education, I was honored to accept the challenge.  For the past four months I have been writing a basic framework for teaching children how to read english through games and short stories.  I set-up 30 units along with researching and brainstorming game ideas with other members of the team that would not only teach necessary reading skills but also to incorporate the adorable stories and characters of the multicultural cast of heros used in some of Isabelle's story applications. (hear someone read Chico to the Rescue with amazing intonation here and see Manuella's adorable illustrations).
Because iLearn4Free is a non-profit organization, we depend on donations and grants to grow and succeed.  The idea for iLearn4Free was submitted to the Open Innovation Africa Summit, under the section 'Education for All'. You can vote for iLearn4Free to have an opportunity to attend the OIAS in Kenya by logging in here, and then voting at this link.
Thanks for any support!