IT’S NEVER TOO LATE – ADULT ALPHABETIZATION

We are improving the school and learning conditions for over 4500 schoolchildren in Nepal. But we don’t want to stop there, we also want to take care of the literacy of adults in remote areas.

According to the “Nepal Human Rights Year Book 2019” (INSEC), the literacy rate in Mugu is only 51.25 percent. This includes all school children, which means that the adult illiteracy rate is significantly higher.

But how do you go about giving the already hard-working adults extra hours of learning?

First, we set up a varied program to show the mountain residents the importance of literacy, both for their own lives and for the benefit and development of the entire community. The schoolchildren painted posters, rehearsed small plays, practiced songs and designed flyers dealing with the topic. To this end, we have launched a competition in the schools we have built and those we support. The students took part with great enthusiasm and let their creativity run free.

With this program we went through the villages to make those who never had the chance to go to school aware of the importance of being able to read, write and do arithmetic at least in a rudimentary way.

In the schools, our team members, together with the teachers, trained the older students in how they can practice reading and writing skills with their parents and neighbors.

The goal is to teach adults the Nepali alphabet and numbers so that they can eventually write their name, read everyday words, and understand and write down simple sentences in their native language. It is also important to learn simple arithmetic, i.e. adding and subtracting.

Our campaign inspires young and old. The pupils have formed several groups in their villages that they teach after school. All have caught fire and are ambitiously practicing. The parents who cannot take part in the groups receive their writing lessons at home in the evenings.

Rajanti, a 13 year old student, tells us with shining eyes: “This program gives our parents a lot of joy and motivates them a lot. My parents can already sign with their name! They are really happy and grateful to be able to learn the alphabet and numbers. It’s never too late for that! “

Rupsa Rawal, a mother from the village of Panseri, adds beaming with joy: “And I am full of hope that in a few days I will even be able to make a call with a mobile phone because I finally know the numbers. I never thought. Also, it will be much easier for me to buy or sell products in the market. So far I always had to trust others as to which price is written. “