SALT LAKE CITY, April 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CHOICE
Humanitarian, in connection with Microsoft Edge, is launching a
first-ever program today designed to empower Guatemalan women to
become literate in Spanish. An introductory video of the program
can be found here: https://vimeo.com/213597350/9982dfcaaa
"Working with Microsoft Edge, we chose Guatemala because language and geographical
barriers separate the Q'eqchi' (Kekchi) population from the rest of
the Spanish-speaking country," said Christopher Johnson, CHOICE Humanitarian
economic development director. "This program is geared to women
because when a woman can read, it is powerful for a family, a
community and everyone around her."
No university in Guatemala
teaches in Mayan languages. Without learning Spanish, no Q'eqchi'
woman can enter college.
"Today there are only men on the community development
committees," said Marta Coy, one of
the first 18 women to take CHOICE and Microsoft Edge's Accent
program. "If I knew Spanish, I could become a community leader and
bring projects that help women.
"I want to be an example to guide my daughters to learn. They
can become leaders and bring new things to the community."
The Accent program is unique because:
- It is open-source, which makes it adaptable for additional
languages, curriculum, activities, etc.;
- It is geared toward adults with no technology experience;
- It teaches basic reading literacy skills and conversation in a
second language;
- It does not require constant Internet connectivity; and
- It provides student performance analytics.
"Microsoft Edge is the perfect host to create this experience,"
said Clarice Chan, Microsoft program
manager. "The browser allows students to draw on web pages like
never before. They don't need to update an app. They get all the
changes instantly."
The Accent curriculum is multi-sensory, which accelerates
learning, especially for anyone with no experience with today's
technology.
"Students can swipe or circle or drag and drop," said
Francesca Perkins, CHOICE
Humanitarian economic development coordinator. "That type of
kinesthetic learning will be helpful in the learning process."
Facing a two-hour walk to school, many students do not attend.
Girls in the Q'eqchi' population region marry as young as 14 years
of age and begin having children. If they do not marry young, they
usually feel they are more useful at home than they are making the
dangerous walk to attend school far away.
The CHOICE and Microsoft Edge program brings learning to women
in their villages, providing them with an educational foundation to
read, write and converse in Spanish.
"We are inviting the world to embrace this program and expand it
so it can serve many populations and many needs," said Johnson. "We
applaud Microsoft Edge for that vision."
More information on the Accent program can be found here:
http://accent.choicehumanitarian.org/
About CHOICE Humanitarian
Partnering with communities where villagers live on less than
$1.90 a day, CHOICE Humanitarian was
established with the purpose of ending extreme poverty,
strengthening families and communities using a leadership
development model that empowers communities to become
self-sufficient.
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT" @microsoft) is the leading platform and
productivity company for the mobile-first, cloud-first world, and
its mission is to empower every person and every organization on
the planet to achieve more.
Contact:
Tim Brown
Richter7 PR
801-557-1466
tbrown@richter7.com
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SOURCE CHOICE Humanitarian