Reading for Ourselves

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ReadingforOurselvesSarah Crowley

PLEASE RETURNTO OXFAMLIBRARY

OxfamUK and Ireland


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Oxfam 1993A catalogue record for this book is available from the British LibraryISBN 0 35598 201 2

Front cover photograph El Salvador: refugees from the civil war organised literacy classes forthemselves while they were in exile in Honduras. Now, like this woman in C iudad SegundoMo nies, they are rebuilding their lives back home in their own country.Jenny Matthews/Oxfam

Published by Oxfam, 274 Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 7DZDesigned and typeset by Oxfam Design Department NY61/PK/93Set in I l / l4pt GaramondPrinted by Oxfam Print Unit on environment-friendly pap er

This book converted to digital file in 2010


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Contents

Foreword 1Nepal: "Now people can't cheat us" 2Tanzania: Doing the accounts and making a profit 4Bolivia: "I've always wanted to sign my name" 8The Philippines: A chance to meet and talk 10Pakistan: Reading the signs 12South Africa: "I can read it on my own" 14Resources 17Oxfam and literacy 18


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ForewordThe United Kingdom is a long way fromthe countries described in this book Bolivia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines,South Africa, and Tanzania. Life for poorpeople in distant countries like these isvery different from life in countries likethe United Kingdom.But people all over the world need tolearn to read, write, and calculate. And ifthey did not learn at school when theywere young, or if they never went toschool, they face problems which aremuch the same in every country.Selina, in South Africa, describes in thisbook how she could not write downmessages when she worked in a hotel.In the UK, too, many people (especiallywomen) who work in low-paid jobs,cleaning or caring for other people, findit hard to write things down.Women in Manila, capital of thePhilippines, go to classes "because wewant to know more". Being able to readgives them confidence in themselves. InPakistan, people want to read becausethey don't like having to ask otherpeople to read their private letters forthem. In Nepal, people want to learn sothat they won't be cheated by money-lenders. In the UK, people go to literacyclasses for all these reasons.It takes courage and energy for peopleto go to classes and learn new things. In

this book, we see women in Nepalwalking for half an hour at the end of ahard day to attend evening classes. InBolivia the old people's eyesight is badand their fingers are so stiff that they canhardly hold a pencil. But they aredetermined to learn. There is so littlemoney for the classes that they have tobreak the pencils in half and share them.In the UK, people face the same sorts ofproblem.In Britain, there has been education foreveryone for more than 100 years. Butthat does not mean that eveiyone foundit easy to learn, or easy to feel goodabout themselves. Too many people especially women learned that whatthey have to say does not matter. Likethe women in the Tanzanian villagedescribed in this book, they get the con-fidence to speak out and stand up forthemselves when they get better at read-ing and writing.The places in this book are veiy faraway. But now thanks to the storiestold here some of them are a littlecloser.Jane MaceSenior Lecturer in CommunityEducation,Goldsmiths' College, LondonMay 1993


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Nepal:"Now peo ple can't cheat us"Nepal is a beautiful countrynorth of India.There are many mountains.The villages up thereare very isolated.The people speaka language called Nepali,which is like Hindi.The girls often don't go to school,because they are needed at hometo help their motherswith their work.In the villagesthe women have a lot of work to do.Some women have to walkdown a steep hillto get all their water.They carry it in potson their backs with a strapthat goes round their foreheads.The women do all the work in the home.They cook on stoves which burn wood.They have to collect the wood.They look after the children.They also have to look aftergoats, cows, and chickens,and they grow vegetables.The men share in the farming work.

Nepal: cooking the evening meal in Chepatervillage, near Gorkha.(Jeremy Hartley/Oxfam)

The only time the women can goto reading and writing classesis in the evenings after dark.Some women live half an hour's walkaway from the class.They meet in a barnthat is cold in winter.The only light they haveis a paraffin lamp.The classes are free.They meet six evenings a week.The women who go to the classhave had no chance to go to school.They go because they wantto help their children.They also want to be able to read,so they won't be cheatedby the money-lenders.


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The teacher is a womanfrom the village.She has had some education.In the class they discuss thingsthat are important in their liveslike health, forests, and agriculture.They invite government officialsto the classesto talk about these things.The women ask them questions.The women say thatbefore they went to classesthey would not have daredto speak to peoplewho work for the government.Speaking to the womenalso helps the officialsto understandthe needs of the village.All the women enjoy the classesbecause they get a chance to meetand talk with other women.

An Oxfam worker called Ritavisited the group.She asked the womenwhat they felt about the classes.They said,"Before, we were in darkness.Now we have seen the light."They sang a song before she leftin which they said:"Give us education and we won't fail.We'll be able to manage our lives in future."

Right Nepal:cutting grass forcattle-food. TheHimalayanmountain rangeis in the back-ground.(Jeremy Hartley/Oxfam)Below Nepal:women thresh-ing rice.(Jeremy Hartley/Oxfam)


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Tanzania:Doing the accountsand making a profitNaisinyai is a Maasai village in Tanzania.It is on the plains below MountKilimanjaro. A few years ago the peopledecided they wanted to improve life inthe village. They knew that health carewas very important. Health-care classeswere started at the church. It was mostlywomen who went. They learned how toprevent illnesses like malaria, and theyset up a health committee. In the classesthe women were encouraged to saywhat was important to them. They began

to speak out in village meetings.The health committee saw that shortageof milk was a problem in the village.More than half the calves were dyingfrom East Coast Fever. The men saidthey should spray the cattle. The womensaid they should build a cattle dip,because that would use less chemicals.The health committee voted and,because there were more women thanmen, they decided to get a cattle dip. MrKisota, the chair of the village council,told an Oxfam worker called Geoff:"The men thought the women werewasting their time, continually discussingthe dip, but when the women came to adecision, you could be sure that some-thing would happen."Oxfam gave them the building materials,and everyone in the village helped tobuild the dip. The women buy thechemicals in 200-litre daims. Every fourlitres of chemical are diluted by 4,000litres of water from the river. The cattle

Tanzania: Mrs Kisota practises writing hersignature, watched by Paulina, a workerwith the Maasai Health Services Project. MrsKisota is preparing to open a bank accounton behalf of the women's cattle-dip project.(Geoff Sayer/Oxfam)


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Maria Mtero, a m ember of the women's group,talking at a village meeting.(Geoff Sayer/Oxfam)

ow ner s h ave to pay five Tanzania nshillings* for each cow that goes throughthe dip. This covers the cost and alsogives the villagers a small profit, whichthey can use to develop other projectsfor the village. The village council haspassed a law to say that all the cattlehave to be dipped every week. About1,000 cattle go through the dip each day,and the dip is in use four days a week.People from other villages bring theircattle to the dip as well.In 1989 the women of Naisinyai boughtthe first 200-litre drum of chemicals with aloan from the village. The daim cost56,000 shillings. The nearest place to buythe chemicals was Kibaya, the district cap-ital, 200 kilometres away. The transportcosts were 10,000 shillings..The incomefrom this first drum was 108,000 shillings.


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The second daim cost 70,000, but thetransport was cheaper: 4,500. This timethe village lent them 33,000 shillings, andthe income was 100,000. The third daimcost 74,000 shillings, and again the trans-port costs were 4,500; the income was100,000. The fourth drum cost 90,000shillings, and the chemicals were trans-ported free by health workers visiting thevillage. By this time the women werebeginning to make a profit and had paidoff their loans from the village.The women decided they wanted to dotheir own accounts for the dip. Theysaid, "We're not having the men keepingour accounts. Men are hopeless withmoney." This meant that they needednumeracy classes. Paulina, one of thehealth workers, began to train them inbook-keeping. As soon as the dip made aprofit, they had to open a bank accountfor the first time. They had to practisesigning their names and filling in forms.Some of the women had been to schoolwhen they were young, but they hadn'tused reading, writing, or numeracy since,so they had forgotten a lot of it.The women were worried about takingthe money home at night. They were notafraid of being robbed. They thought thatif i t was known who had taken themoney home, that woman's husbandwould put pressure on her to lend himthe money. He might say it was neededfor other village business like mendingthe lorry. The women decided that thesafest way was for all of them to carryhome a bag every night, so no onewould know who really had the money.

Since the women set up the cattle dip,East Coast Fever has almost disappeared.The women now feel much more confi-dent. There is a lot of support andfriendship between them. But they stillface many problems. All their watercomes from a dirty river. If they had aborehole, they would have clean water.They are thinking of using money fromthe cattle dip to pay for a borehole andfor pipes to deliver clean water roundthe village. They would also like a dis-pensary, to provide the village withsimple medicines.Maria Mteru, one of the women involvedin the dip, said to Geoff, "We're proud ofour village and what we've achieved." In 1990 when Geoff visited the village, themonthly income from the dip was 57,000shillings. At that time there were 345 shillings tothe pound sterling. Five shillings bought onebanana. Sugar cost 100 a kilo. A daily news-paper cost 40. A teacher or a nurse earnedabout 2,000 shillings a month. The Maasaipeople earn money by selling cattle, milk, andhides.

Maria Mtero at the cattle-dip in Naisinyai.(Geoff Sayer/Oxfam)


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Bolivia:"I've always wan ted to signm y name"La Paz is the capital of Bolivia. Aroundthe edges of the city are shanty towns,where the very poorest people live.Many people who live there havedifficulty with reading and writing.One organisation runs 63 adult educationgroups in the city. All the teachers arevolunteers who live in the shanty towns.In one place there are 80 women whomeet in the open air. They sit on thestony ground to learn. Thewomen are divided intodifferent groups. Some ofthem went to schoolwhen they were young,so they can learn morequickly. There are foodshortages and healthproblems in the area, sothey read about theseissues and discuss them.One group is called theGrandmothers' G roup.They are older womenwho never went toschool. They are taughtby Carolina, who is 16.She goes to school inthe mornings. On

Tuesday afternoons she teaches readingand writing. Many of the older womenhave problems learning. They can't seewell and their fingers are very stiff, so it ishard to hold a pencil.Juana Monroy is 62. She says, "I havenever been to school. In my time,parents used to say, 'Studying is forboys, the girls can't go'. That's why Inever learned. Now my eyesight is bad, Ican't read. But I've always wanted tosign my name." Carolina says,

"You need a lot ofpatience to startfrom scratch at theirage, but we havefun."In another groupthere is a studentcalled Justa Quista.She has five children.

She says, "It is difficultfor us to get time off tocome here. Myhusband says, 'Why areyou going to wasteBolivia: a literacy class inLa Paz.(Sean Sprague/Oxfam)


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your time there? You are too old to learn.It will make your head spin.' I just tellhim, 'Look, I'm going for a bit of a break.I get fed up at home with the kids andproblems and all.' "These classes are only once a week.There is very little money for pencils andpaper. They break the pencils in half, somore people can have one. There arenot many books.In Bolivia the official language is Spanish,but the people who go to these classesspeak Aymara. Aymara was spoken inBolivia before the Spanish arrived. Theseliteracy groups have chosen to learn toread in Spanish, because they say it ismore useful. They say they can't stand upfor themselves if they don't knowSpanish. One of the teachers is called Sonia.She says, "There are lots of women

who want to learn, but people havesuch bad financial problems, theyhave to give up the chance to study,and go for whatever will fill theirfamilies' stomachs."The students say they go to classes"So we won't be cheated" ... "So wewon't have to say that we don't knowhow to sign our names" ... "So wecan help our kids with their home-work" ... "So we'll know who to votefor".

Bolivia: grandmothers learning to readand write at a literacy class in La Paz.(Jenny Matthews/Oxfam)


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The Philippines:A chance to m eet and talk

Manila is the capital cityof the P hilippines.Tondo is a slum area of the city.The houses are huts on stiltsin the waters of Manila Bay.It is very crow dedand often there are floods.People reach their homesby paths over big rocks.The people here are very poor.There are few servicesand no electricity.

There is a women'sreading and writing class in Tondo.Oxfam pays for the teacher.She is called Emma Orozco.About 12 women go to the class.They are all aged over 50.There was no school for themwhen they were children.They go to the classbecause they feelthey want to know more.They can't readwhere the bus is going to.

Negros Island, the Philippines: workers ata demonstration demand 'Equal Pay ForWomen and Men'.(Belinda Coote/Oxfam)

These women spend a lot of their timelooking after their own childrenand their grandchildren.They make some moneyby selling food or sewing.They are very pleased to go to the class.It gives them a chance to meet and talk.The classroom is tiny.There is a blackboard.They meet two or three times a weekduring the day.They can't meet at night,because it's not safe for them to go out.Also there is no light to read by.

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They read from a bookwhich they wrote themselves.They also discuss problemsthat affect them,like poor health care and prostitution.They enjoy going to the class.They are very proud of being able to learn.They feel more confident now.

The Philippines: Mrs Flor David, a com-munity health worker, tells ivomen in ashanty town how to stop their childrengetting tetanus.(Nancy Durrell-McKenna/Oxfam)

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Pakistan:Reading the signs

The Nai Roshni schoolis in a city called Quetta.Quetta is in the west of Pakistan,near the border with Afghanistan.There are mountainsall round the city.The area round the schoolhas steep narrow streets.There are no pavements.The streets have drainsrunning down both sides.There are little bridges to crossto get to the shops.An Oxfam worker,Mohammed Ali Gulzari,lives in this part of the city.He lives with his mother,his brothers, his wife,and his children.Their home is like manyin the area.It has two rooms.Outside there isa covered kitchenand a toilet.There is no ainning water.They get waterfrom a tap outsidein their yard.In the rooms are thin mattresses.

They sit on theseduring the day andsleep on them at night.When they eat, they puta tablecloth on the floor.They have a TV.The Nai Roshni schoolis for adult women and girls.The women missed outon educationwhen they were young.

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The girls workin the handicraft industryand go to the schoolin the evening.There are 33 womenin the literacy class.Six of them are Afghan refugees.Most of themare in their twenties.A few of them are married.They study literacy and numeracy.They learn about health in a classwith some of the older girlsin the school.They also have some time each weekwhen they discuss the problemsthey face in their lives.Farzana is divorced.She has a 10-year-old child.She is going to the classto learn numeracy,in order to get a job.She can sew and embroider,but the handicraft centrewon't employ herunless she can add up figures.If she had a job,she would be less dependenton her family.Zahra's husband is workingin Kuwait for a year.When he wrote letters to her,she decided she neededto learn to read.She had to ask other peopleto read her letters for her.She didn't like other peopleknowing her business.

Pakistan: street signs in Urdu and English inthe city of Karachi.(Ben Buxton/Oxfam)

An Oxfam worker called Sabrinavisited the class.When she talked to the women,they said to herthat being unable to readis a form of blindness.It is a real disability for them.They can't read road signs.When they go shopping,they can't read the shop signsor the prices.They would like to be ableto read cooking instructionson food packets.Some women want to readwhat programmes are on the TV.

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South Africa:"I can read it o n m y own"

The Bulamahlo Learning Project in SouthAfrica is funded by Oxfam. It is based inShiluvane, which is a black settlement ina homeland in the Transvaal. Underapartheid the homelands were createdas separate areas for the blacks to live in.This left most of the good land for thewhites.The area is very poor and overcrowded.Some people are employed on the farmsowned by whites more than 50 milesaway. They have to leave home at 4.00in the morning and don't get home till

7.00 or 8.00 at night. Mostly it is the menwho work on the farms.There are 94 literacy groups in the area.The teaching is in Sotho, the local lan-guage. Some people learn English whenthey have learnt to read and write Sotho.Each student has three two-hour classesa week. The classes are free, but theyhave to buy their own books.South Africa: an open-air class in Shiluvane,Transvaal.(Matthew Sherrington/Oxfam)

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An Oxfam worker called Matthew went tovisit a class in 1992. He spoke to two stu-dents, Miriam Komana and Selina Mailula.Miriam Komana was born in 1941. She isa widow with six children. She used towork on a farm, but lost her job. Thenshe worked in a school kitchen. Nowshe says, "I am not old enough to get apension, so I buy fruit and vegetablesfrom white farms and sell them in themarket." Three mornings a week she hasto go in search of firewood.When she was young, Miriam didn't go toschool. She had to work on the farm. "Inthose days people did not think thatyoung girls should go to school." Miriamsays she always wanted to learn to read.She didn't like asking otherpeople to read her letters. Shealso wanted to read the Bible inchurch. What finally made herstart classes was a trip to thePost Office. "My brother sentme something fromJohannesburg and at the PostOffice I had to sign. I was veryembarrassed to just put an X."Miriam has been going toclasses for three years. Shefeels confident about herreading, but her writing isnot very good yet. She workshard. "In the evening I sitwith a candle and work atwhat we have do ne in theday, so that I can under-stand it."As Miriam was speaking toMatthew ouside the class,someone called over the fence

to her. A letter had come from herdaughter. She opened it and smiled."Now I am happy, because I can read iton my own."Selina Mailula has been going to classesfor six months. She was born in 1963and has two children aged 11 and 1. Herhusband works in a liquor store 60 milesaway. He comes home only once ortwice a month.Selina didn't go to school, because hermother was a single parent and couldnot afford the fees. Not being able toread and write has caused her manyproblems. "I worked in a white farmer'shouse for six years. If I answered thephone when no one was at home, I


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\could never take a message, because Icouldn't write. I couldn't even writedown the phone number for the baas."(Baas is a black South African name for awhite boss.) Later she worked in a hotel.Sometimes she had to help out in thehotel shop. That was difficult too. "Therewere things I could not do, like register-ing goods and reading the prices."Now her husband goes away to work,she has other problems. "Sometimes hesends me money, and I didn't know howto sign for it at the Post Office. Andwhen he wrote letters I had to askfriends to read them for me. They knowall my secrets. Sometimes I even had topay people to sign for my money or readmy letters."It took Selina a while to persuade herhusband to let her go to classes. "He

teach

went to school and can read, but when Iwanted to start last year, we were build-ing our house. He said that the classesweren't important and that I should lookafter the children. He thought the classeswere all day and that I wouldn't work inthe house."When the house was finished, Selinaasked her husband again. He said shecould go to the class. "Now he is veryhappy that I am learning. For the firstmonths we learned letters, then how towrite our names." Her mother looksafter the baby while she is at class.Selina studies as much as she can whenshe has done her house work. Sheborrows children's books from theschool. "My son helps sometimes if I getit wrong." Her husband encourages herto read the Bible.After six months she still finds readingdifficult. With help she can read her hus-band's letters. She can also sign hername to get money at the Post Office. "Ican read road signs and signs on houseslike 'Beware of the dog'!" she laughs.Selina would like to become a teacher,"to share this cleverness with. others". She know s that morewomen than men have prob-lems with reading and writing."It is important for women to

read and write, so they can dothings on their own and notrely on others. I feel moreconfident now."

South Africa: time to relax ata literacy class in Soiveto.(Nancy Durrell-McKenna/Oxfam)

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Resources listBackground readingThe following books, published by Oxfam foradults, give more information about life insome of the countries featured in Reading forOurselves.BoliviaThe Andes: A Quest for Justice, byMacDonald (1992)' NeilNepalNepal: A Country Profile, by Omar Sattaur (dueMarch 1994)*PakistanPakistan: A Country Profile, by Khavar Mumtaz(due December 1993)*The PhilippinesThe Philippines: Debt and Poverty, by RosalindaPineda-Ofreneo (199D*South AfricaWe Cry For Our Land: Farm Workers in SouthAfrica, by Wendy Davies (1990)*

GeneralHalf the World, Half a Chance: An Introductionto Gender and Development, by Julia ClevesMosse (1992)

Resources for teachersThe following resources (published by Oxfamor with support from Oxfam) include activitiesfor teaching about the countries featured inReading for Ourselves. They are designed foruse with children and young people, but canbe adapted for use with adults.PakistanGariyan: Transport in Pakistan (Oxfam, 1992)"TanzaniaHanging by a Thread: explores issues of tradeand debt, using cotton production in Tanzaniaas a case study (Leeds DEC, 1992)"

New Journeys: explores themes of tourism, self-reliance, and land use in Kenya and Tanzania(Birmingham DEC, 1992)"Living and Learning in a Tanzanian Village, acase study of Kirua Primary School (ManchesterDEP, 1992)"South Afr icaArt Against Apartheid (Art and DevelopmentEducation Project, 1990)"The Kei Road Eviction: a role-play activitybased on a real-life incident when farm work-ers were evicted from their homes (Oxfam,1990)"The PhilippinesHere and Davao: photos, activities, and inter-views about life in the Philippines (availablef rom N ew cas t l e D eve l opment Educa t i onUnit)*"GeneralRight to Read: activities to illustrate literacyissues, with case studies (available from LeedsDEC, 1993)***Oxfam Peters Projec t ionPublications, 1989)* Map (Oxfam

* Avai lable f rom O xfam Pub l ica t ionsDepartment, 274 Banbury Road, Oxford OX27DZ (tel. 0865 311311). Publications cataloguesent on request.** Available from Oxfam Young People's Team,274 Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 7DZ (tel. 0865311311). Education catalogue sent on request.*" Available from the publishers; addresses aregiven in the Oxfam Education catalogue (avail-able from the Young People 's Team at theabove address).

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Oxfam and LiteracyOxfam supports many more literacy andnumeracy groups around the world, likethe ones described in this booklet.Millions of adults in the world cannotread or write. Many of them missed thechance to go to school when they wereyoung, because they live in poorcountries which cannot afford to educateeverybody.If people can't read, they don't knowwhat their legal rights are. In Bangladesh,for example, landless people are allowedto claim empty land, to grow food fortheir families. But often they don't knowhow to claim the land, and rich peopletake it instead. So Oxfam pays forteachers and books and pencils, to helpthe landless people to learn to read.If people can't read and write, they can'topen a bank account. They have toborrow from money lenders, who chargevery high rates of interest. Some of thepeople in the literacy classes inBangladesh now have bank accounts.Others have set up their own villagesavings groups, to raise money forcommunity projects.On the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua, peoplespeak English and Spanish. Here a woman inthe town ofBluefields reads 'Sunrise', a bi-lin-gual comm unity newspaper unded by Oxfam.(Mike Goldwater/Oxfain)

If people can't do sums, they can't set uptheir own businesses. In Senegal, villagewomen have to support their familieswhen the men go off to find work in thetowns. Oxfam is helping women to learnto read and do sums. They built theirown classrooms. Now some have openeda shop, selling things like soap; others areselling smoked fish in the market.If women can't read, they can't find outabout family planning methods, and theycan't read the words on medicine bottleswhen their children are ill. In Kenya,health workers decided to start classes inliteracy for local women. Oxfam pays the

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teachers. The women and the teachers arewriting their own books. The first wordthat the women learned to read waskame, which means 'mother'.If people can't read, and they getseparated from each other, theysometimes forget their own history andculture. On the east coast of Nicaragua, ina very isolated area, Oxfam funds acommunity newspaper called Sunrise. Itkeeps people in touch with each other,and it records their stories of the oldtimes. Oxfam helped to pay for theprinting press and office equipment.Oxfam set up a Literacy Fund in 1992, toraise m on ey for m ore projects like these .Money comes from public contributions;royalties from books published by Oxfam

with other publishers; special promotionswith publishers or booksellers; and 'bringand buy' book sales organised by schools,libraries, and other groups.The Oxfam Literacy Fund links peoplewho can read in the countries of theNorth with those who are struggling forthe power that literacy brings in the poorcountries of the South. For more details,contact The Oxfam Literacy Fund, Oxfam,274 Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 7DZ.

Nicaragua: After the revolution in 1979,95,000 students, factory workers, and civil ser-vants volunteered to run literacy classes in poorcommunities. In six months, over 400,000Nicaraguans had learned to read and write.Oxfam helped to fund this Literacy Crusade.(Mike Goldwater/Oxfam)

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Reading for Ourselves

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