Submitted by olivia on Tue, 2013-04-09 16:43
- STORIES FROM MAAI MAHIU, KENYA -
As many of my colleagues and associates are aware, I have developed a passion for literacy especially adult literacy. I love hearing success stories of individuals who have overcome the monumental obstacles of illiteracy and who are now confident and productive members of society. I recently interviewed two women who are participants of our adult literacy program. They mentioned that CTC Adult Literacy Program has helped them learn how to read. This is a program reaching and helping more than 50 participants within Maai-Mahiu town. It is stories like these that remind me of why I do what I do.
The information was derived from some interviews done a while back regarding the program. I managed to interview 2 of the adult learners who share the first two names i.e. Mary Wangui Muya and Mary Wangui Kamau. I am impressed with these individuals' competence, as well as their passion and drive to learn and fight illiteracy.
Mary Wangui Muya
Mary Wangui Muya is a 59 year old widow taking care of 4 grandchildren in Maai-Mahiu, and has been in the Adult Literacy Program for the last five months. Previously, Mary did not know how to read or write a single letter. She could neither write her name nor recognize it when written. Right now, Mary is able to read and write her name as well as manage her family’s budget.
Five months ago, Mary could not even operate a phone and every time she needed to make calls, she would request her neighbors to do it for her. Right now, Mary makes her own calls without any help. To test Mary’s phone skills, I gave her my business card and asked her to dial in my number. I am always excited to get her calls, which are often telling me how the program has helped her. Apart from that, Mary is also able to check her grandchildren’s kindergarten homework in absence of their parents.
Additionally, the engagement from their lovely tutors is so helpful, the whole class hasn’t even missed a single session. The environment provided, helps the learners feel comfortable and open to share their family stories with each other. They live as a family listening with humility, empathy and supporting each other when need be. Mary said, “I used to have ulcer problems due to stress being alone in the house but since I started coming for sessions and getting my mind engaged, that problem is gone!” The learners have learned a lot from the program and Mary is looking forward to starting a business soon. She stated that, “I am currently working on breaking big stones to hardcore (broken bricks/stones) and sell to the constructors but am looking forward to owning a business and apply what I have learned” .
Mary Wangui Kamau
Mary Wangui Kamau is a 24 year-old mother of two, married and living in Maai-Mahiu. She is originally from a place called Onespukia where they were displaced due to clashes and relocated to Maela, Nakuru District where she got married and later shifted to Maai-Mahiu.
The most interesting thing with Mary Wangui Kamau is that she didn’t know how to read and write but within the 5 months she has been attending sessions, she can now do both. Mary Wangui Kamau is learning so fast she will soon be the best performing learner in the Basic Literacy class. She said, “I don’t believe that I am the one (I used to be) because I can read and write in Swahili and simple English and I didn’t even know how to write my name!” She was so excited when she was able to help her kids with their homework and even writing compositions on her own. She went on by saying, “I can now write numeric from 1 to 100 and alphabetic from A to Z. Additionally, I couldn’t save anyone’s contacts in my phone or recognize whoever was calling, but right now I can dial in phone numbers, save them and even call without any help”.
“I’ve come to realize the value of literacy. It’s a miracle to me, to actually have the ability to read words on a page, generate meaning from these words and to understand them”, Mary added. Mary Wangui Kamau wishes to get a job when she learns how to read and write fluently and would like to stop being a house wife.
Having turned to be the most committed and best performing adult literacy learners, it’s a coincident that both of these women share the same first names.
These interviews provide a thrilling visual of the great need to promote and provide literacy instructions/trainings within the community. These statistics and stories stimulate a desire in me to do more.
The Adult Literacy Program is really helping a lot of people from the Maai-Mahiu community, to fight illiteracy. Aside from the trainings themselves, I witnessed something magical going on within the Adult Literacy classroom. Each day as I walked out of the session, I saw learners from different locations gathered around their teachers sharing their life stories with the tutors and their individual excitement to be in the program. I see learners checking out a few books together and making sure that their individual homework is seen and marked by the tutors, showing their dedication and ownership of the program. I also see adults sitting next to open books with their eyes scanning the pages, taking in the words like they were a refreshing drink of water. This makes me feel so proud of them, and I am grateful to be able to participate in this amazing literacy program.
I am aware that there are several other trainings throughout the country doing similar things, whose efforts I applaud as well, but I feel honored to have participated in these trainings. Though facing some challenges due to limited books, we are working hard towards having a library for our learners because, I believe libraries are magical places that can open the doors to education like no other. I am very much looking forward to continuing with this amazing program!
Blog By:
Rubie Ruth, CTC Kenya ICT Specialist
