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Javier Gonzales: fighting illiteracy in Columbia

July 1, 2008

Javier Gonzales from Colombia has made it his role in life to help those who are illiterate. And he does it through play.

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Everything began in 1960, with a game of dominoes. The parents of his pupils at the time unfailingly beat him at dominoes - even though they couldn´t read or write. Inspired by this he invented the "abcd-espanol", a game that has so far helped over a million Latin Americans to read and write.

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The report as video on demand

July 1, 200807:01 min
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Download here (mp4)

Millions of people worldwide can´t read or write, and develop a multitude of strategies to get by in daily life. A situation one man in the south American country of Colombia believes is unnecessary. In our series on social entrepreneurs, we report now on the Colombian teacher who´s dedicated his life to fighting illiteracy.
June 10, 200806:54 min