Key people: Azam and Barbara Gill
For the first year of this partnership it did not go very well. The key person left without telling Azam and handed it over to someone else who did not really understand what was going on so there have been teething troubles. However, this last year it has gone very well with two villages having regular classes and two others getting some assistance and classes.
I visited for a couple of days in October and talked with some of the people benefiting from the teaching and to the two trainers.
Mushtaq is the trainer in Village #322 JB, Shahzada. He is an older man who went to grade 9 but has continued to read. He is one of the leaders in the church in the village and is probably the most well off of the Christians. He has 12 students and has noticed a big change in those who have learned well. It brings them out of themselves and they participate in village, family and church life.
Muqadas (woman) is the teacher in Village #153 GB, Bhaindian. She is single and has a science degree. She loves teaching people to read. She has between 10 and 12 people come every day and some of them are also doing the sewing course. They come from 7:00–9:00 each day. She also has eight other students who cannot come at that time and she teaches them when they are available. She also leads a Sunday School class.
When the people can read they become independent. They do not have to rely on other people all the time and it gives them a lot of confidence. They can help their children and it gives them pride to be able to do that. Usually when a parent cannot read, the children learn nothing at home. There are none or few toys in the home and definitely no books. The children do not even know how to play.
A number of older young people had left school in the lower grades and were not able to get jobs. They were dependent on their families and ended up just loafing around. But they started learning to read and three of them have got jobs now. The others are motivated to find jobs and they have changed significantly. They have also learned numeracy and this makes a difference too in terms of jobs they can get. They feel like they can participate and do not feel second class and ashamed.
It is making a difference in the life of the churches with more people able to participate. Those who learn have more confidence to say things.
Azam is still a little disappointed with the way this programme took some time to kick in. However, it is now up and running and he would like to extend it to two other villages.
There is still a lot of opposition to education, especially for girls.
More people now want to become involved in learning to read.
1) They have the funds for two villages but have been able to stretch it to four villages.
2) The changes that are developing in the people learning to read, especially that their attitudes have changed and some are getting jobs.
I think this is now becoming embedded in the community and functioning satisfactorily. Hopefully as they begin to obtain the benefits of the sewing business they will be able to pay for these courses themselves but there are a lot of other villages that are requesting help.