Aug 22, 2016

Zaman literacy program gets a bounty of books from Dearborn School District

Dearborn School District’s Adult & Community Education has donated more than 2,000 books to Zaman International’s new adult literacy program – a gift that will significantly enhance the English as a Second Language (ESL) curriculum Zaman offers its clients.

The ESL books are from New Readers Press, the publishing division of ProLiteracy, and include various series teaching financial literacy, health and healthcare, workplace culture, and other life skills and areas of acculturation. These series offer different levels of instruction for multilevel classrooms, teacher’s guides, and audio recordings.

The donation is perfectly timed for the sophomore semester of Zaman’s literacy program, which was launched in January through the Building Ongoing Opportunities Through Skills Training (BOOST) program. More than 40 students are registered for the fall, roughly half of whom completed the first semester of tutoring in May and are ready for advanced material. The donated books, many of which are brand new, include additional copies of series that BOOST is already using as well as series it had hoped to acquire.

“They gave us our wish list,” said BOOST Director Gigi Salka. “The books we received include curricula we had hoped to introduce but didn’t have the funding to purchase. The donation from Adult & Community Education allows us to enroll more students while at the same time augmenting what we teach them. We are tremendously grateful.”

The BOOST Literacy Program, which is based on the model developed by ProLiteracy America and the Adrian Rea Literacy Centers, provides one-on-one and small group tutoring in ESL and Adult Basic Literacy and integrates life skills through shopping excursions and library outings. It is free to Zaman’s clients and facilitates participation by providing child care and transportation to and from classes. Donations of time or materials, which are always welcome, can be directed to Salka at 313-551-3994 ext. 2017 or gsalka@zamaninternational.org.

Zaman International is a nonprofit organization committed to addressing the basic needs and empowerment of marginalized women and children locally and internationally. Founded in 1996 and incorporated in 2004, Zaman has to date assisted more than 125,000 people in Southeast Michigan with food, clothing, furniture, utility assistance, infant burial, and other essential needs, while providing humanitarian relief, disaster response, and access to safe drinking water to an additional 600,000 across the world through international activities and partnerships. Since 2016, Zaman has operated out of the Hope For Humanity Center, a 40,500-square-foot facility in Inkster that houses its crisis assistance, vocational training and life skills programs. For more information, please visit www.zamaninternational.org.