ProLiteracy’s South Africa Site Visit--Notes from the Field

-
Notes from the Filed--January 31, 2012
Alesha Anderson
International Programs Coordinator

Today was a very exciting day out in the field! ProLiteracy’s President, David Harvey and I went to visit an organization that ProLiteracy has been partnering with for more than 40 years: Operation Upgrade (OpUp). OpUp is one of the largest and oldest NGO’s in South Africa focused on adult literacy. ProLiteracy began working with OpUp in the 1960s with active leadership from our co-founder, Dr. Frank Laubach, and we continue to support their literacy programs today.

We started off the day by meeting OpUp director, Pat Dean, and the many staff that help make OpUp’s work possible. As we arrived at the main office in Durban, six new literacy trainers were being trained by Beatrice, a dedicated staff member who has helped teach adult literacy with OpUp for more than 18 years. The new trainers were learning how to integrate HIV/AIDS education into basic adult literacy classes. OpUp focuses on mother tongue literacy classes so that learners learn to read in write in their own languages before learning English. OpUp combines ProLiteracy’s Literacy for Social Change approach with non-formal education literacy training so that participants feel the content is culturally applicable and relevant to what

they experience in their daily lives. Before any literacy class starts, learners always sing a song or do a theater presentation that represents what they are going to learn about. David and I had the honor of seeing this literacy training presented in Zulu.

After the singing and dancing, each trainer took a turn practicing as the teacher while the other participants became the students. It was a wonderful experience, seeing literacy in action! Next, David and I will accompany some of these newly trained teachers to a literacy class in one of the communities (townships) where they will be regularly working with adult learner over the next few years. Stay tuned for more stories and updates on our site visit!



Comments

  1. Nana 675February 10, 2012 at 12:57 AM

    Hi,
    Amazing work.You state that "OpUp combines ProLiteracy’s Literacy for Social Change approach with non-formal education literacy training so that participants feel the content is culturally applicable and relevant to what they experience in their daily lives".Please can you provide one or two examples through which OpUp achieves this.

    ReplyDelete
  2. EcuatoriGringaFebruary 16, 2012 at 2:47 PM

    Nana675 Operation Upgrade (OpUp) uses an approach to education called Literacy for Social Change. This methodology integrates AIDS/HIV education into basic literacy lessons so that learners are learning how to read and write in their native languages while also being educated on HIV/AIDS. As learners progress, Operation Upgrade provides other kinds of specialized training like how to start a small business, home healthcare and family literacy, and nutrition just to name a few. OpUp also works with learners to start community action projects like tunnel gardens so that participants can grow their own food to use at home and/or sell what they grow to earn an income and help support their families.

    Alesha Anderson, International Program Manager, ProLiteracy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nana 675February 28, 2012 at 9:26 PM

      Alesha,
      Thank you for your response and the valuable information.Awesome work! On average what is the success rate of your (OpUp) projects in South Africa?

      Delete
  3. AnonymousFebruary 20, 2012 at 4:01 PM

    OpUp appears to be a long-term success. Has the formula for their program been applied in other countries or locales that ProLiteracy supports?

    ReplyDelete
  4. EcuatoriGringaFebruary 22, 2012 at 9:41 AM

    GTAK: Yes, Operation Upgrade has worked with other Ministries of Education to adapt/localize materials for adult learners in their mother tongue. They are also working on developing a Southern African Literacy Network where practitioners and educators from all over the Southern African region can come together to discuss best practices, exchange materials, and work with other local and regional NGOs to target the adult literacy issue together.


    Alesha Anderson, International Program Manager, ProLiteracy

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CONFINTEA VI - Blogging from Belem, Brazil

-
Image
David Harvey, ProLiteracy President & CEO - From the International Civil Society Forum (ICSF) - Belem, Brazil - 11/28/09 Lynn Curtis, head of ProLiteracy´s international programs, and I, David Harvey, arrived this past Saturday after a 10 hour flight to Belem, Brazil, to participate in ICSF. Over 1000 NGOs from all over the world are participating in the Forum, ahead of UNESCO´s CONFINTEA conference. CONFINTEA only happens every 12 or 13 years, so this is a rare meeting indeed! The Forum is preparing NGOs to participate in CONFINTEA, and will prepare an action agenda to try and influence the outcome of CONFINTEA. David Harvey, From ICSF Belem, Brazil - 11/29/09 One of the opening speakers of ICSF, Jose Roberto Guerara, from the Asia/Pacific Association for Basic Education, asked people to stand up if they had participated in past CONFINTEA conferences, with the first happening in the late 40s. A few people stood up. Mr. Guerara then asked, ¨"what has changed since t...
Read more

Increased Attention to Adult Literacy : U.S. Government and UN Join Forces

-
ProLiteracy’s 80 years of global experience have caused us to recognize the tragic reality that adult literacy, a crucial element of the development and poverty reduction process, is often missing from key international policy discussions. In the past few weeks, the adult literacy topic has been highlighted among top government and international organizations in three critical areas. Educating Girls Today, 796 million adults worldwide lack basic literacy skills; two-thirds of that population are women. UNESCO recently announced a joint project with the United States Department of State, targeting education rates among women. The program , “Better Lives, Better Future” will help stem dropout rates of adolescent girls as they transition from primary to secondary education. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton hopes that this new focus will help policy makers effectively target education investments. “When we educate a young girl, we are shaping our world for a better tomorrow...
Read more

The World Welcomes South Sudan

-
Image
Women celebrating from Sudanese NGO, My Sister's Keeper In July 2011, South Sudan will become an independent nation, Africa’s 55th country, and the world’s youngest state. After two decades of civil war and high poverty levels, the new country will face many challenges. Literacy and education will play a vital role in charting a new course for South Sudan. A recent policy paper published by UNESCO discusses how education will be a first step toward the construction of peace and a better future for the people of South Sudan.The policy paper reveals that women face some of the most imminent challenges in terms of access to education. Today, only around 8 percent of women in South Sudan are literate, possibly the lowest female literacy rate in the world. Young girls in South Sudan face extreme disadvantages in education. Girls are less likely to enter school and more likely to drop out early. Today, a young girl in South Sudan is three times more likely to die in pregnancy or ch...
Read more