So inspiring!

I recently read this story that was released in the Baha'i World News Service, and I was so inspired by it--this is a great example of people identifying a problem, and finding a way to address it in such a wonderful, systematic and simple way. I recommend reading the full article by clicking the link at the bottom to continue.
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Empowering Roma mothers to break the cycle of illiteracy

THE JASZSAG REGION, Hungary, 3 August 2006 (BWNS)

-- Before she started studying with the Mesed Project, Agi Racz was ashamed of the fact that she could not read -- and afraid to try to learn how.

"At first I had doubts, fears," said Ms. Racz, a mother of four and a member of the Roma ethnic minority.

But with the encouragement of the Mesed literacy project volunteers and other participants, she overcame her anxieties.

"I felt good with my friends, and it helped me to get over my feelings of shame," she said. "If someone couldn't read she got encouragement from the others. They said, 'Never mind, go on.' I realized that I can do it, that they won't laugh at me."

Ms. Racz is one of some 40 participants in the Mesed project, which was started by the Baha'i community of Hungary in 2003 with the goal of teaching reading and writing to disadvantaged Roma women.

Currently operating in eight towns and cities, the project is distinctive for its use of storytelling in the teaching of reading and writing. The word Mesed is an acronym for "Meselo Edes Anyak," which means "storytelling mothers."

The project aims to help Roma mothers to overcome their fears of reading by encouraging them to read and tell stories to their children -- thereby not only giving them encouragement in the path to literacy, but also to create a culture of reading at home -- and so help break the cycle of illiteracy between generations. ... FULL ARTICLE AND PICTURES