Notes from the Field: ProLiteracy’s Visit to the Tongaat Adult Literacy Class
“We are so proud of this literacy class because all of the students have passed their final exams with a 98 percent average, including the three students that have learning disabilities. Here in South Africa we integrate students with disabilities and the instructor works with them to stay on course with the rest of the students,” says Pat Dean, Operation Upgrade’s executive director.
The class meets three times per week for two to three hours. In the class we visited, participants were learning numeracy as they discussed how to write a budget. The entire lesson was taught in Zulu, the mother tongue for most learners here in Kwazulu-Natal (Durban). One woman who regularly attends the class is 74 years old! Each person also took time to share with ProLiteracy how learning to read and write has changed their lives.
One learner said, “I can now read the Bible; before, I stopped going to church because I couldn't read the songs or follow along with the preacher.” Another participant shared that she could now read the text messages that she received on her cell phone and identify where she needed to go by reading the street signs. One by one, each person shared a personal story of how literacy had impacted their lives and the lives of their families.
Last year some of the learners also got together and planted a tunnel garden for growing spinach, peppers, cabbage, and other vegetables to sell or use to help feed their families. Each week after class, they stay for an extra hour to work in the community garden; next year some of the women hope to start a cooperative business to earn an income and build upon what they are doing now with the tunnel garden.
It was another full and rewarding day in South Africa! We are so inspired by the people we meet who make so many sacrifices everyday to learn how to read and write–even at 74 years old, grandparents come to class and learn how to read and write so that they can help their grandchildren with homework. We have been so refreshed spending time with Operation Upgrade and talking to the adult learners they serve. We have one more day here in Durban and then will begin our journey back to the United States.
Stay tuned for our next blog post when we will be visiting another literacy class – this time in a township where one of the newly trained teachers will be starting from the very beginning with her students.
It is amazing the eagerness the people in South Africa have to learn to read. If only we could help the people in the United States to take on that same eagerness. The work that is going on there is rewarding I am sure. I teach in the elementary school and I know how it feels when you have worked with individuals all year and see the progress that is being made. When someone learns to read, it is something that you cannot explain as an educator. I am so proud of your work and I look forward to hearing more good things to come form South Africa.
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