| Success Stories: |
| |
Bridging the gap
Let’s make everyone awake
I learned how to Learn
Laado |
| |
 |
| |
| Shamia lives in the village of Qayyumabad in the district of Mardan. She has done her matric and now a housewife. Everyone in her society spoke Pashto. She most of the time felt that, the people living around her, face difficulties due to the only language they knew for example conversation with the person who doesn’t understand Pashto, reading of utility bills, going out of the town etc. |
| |
| One day she went to attend some marriage in the family. There she met a teacher who informed her about the adult literacy centers. Shamia inquired everything about the literacy center and how it could be opened. That teacher also told her that these centers are totally different from the traditional centers in a way that these centers are run by Azaan Literacy Program with all support from National Rural Support Program (NRSP). She was also informed that through the syllabus of Azaan Literacy Program any illiterate person can read, write and speak in three months after the course. Not only a person can read newspaper and write a letter easily but he can do some mathematical operations like addition,
subtraction, multiplication and division which apply in daily life. The criteria to open a center is that the teacher’s qualification must be matric and he/she have to identify and enroll 30 illiterate learners with ages between 15 to 45 and who are interested to do the literacy course. Shamia was happy about her dream was about to become reality. |
| |
| Shamia immediately contacted AFT office and showed her interest for the opening of center in her community. After the completion of formal procedures, Shamia was given permission and conferred teacher’s training on the first book. She opened the center in her mother’s home. Learners took deep interest in the course. |
| |
| It was only a week passed, some religious people started spreading rumors that these centers are opened by international organizations and are giving non
religious schooling. So don’t let your females to attend these centers. Further, these organizations have hidden agenda and are creating misconceptions about our religion, culture and beliefs. Hence let these centers must be closed instantly. People trusted on such rumors and as a result they restricted their females to attend these centers and tried to close these centers by force. One center was closed in these circumstances despite of that Shamia continued her classes without any stress. Her mother also backed her in this difficult situation. |
| |
| Shamia also started teaching Quran to her learners but mind set of people was not changed. In the community mosque, Shamia and her mother’s name was being announced by the clerics, as they are not following their instructions. Upon this insult Shamia’s mother met those clerics and very professionally and positively portrayed the working of the literacy centers, Azaan Literacy Program and NRSP. |
| |
| She also emphasized on the need of such productive programmes for the illiterate people of their areas especially for the female population as they are said to be the roots of any family. Still people showed reservations on the comparison of providing literacy in Government schools with these adult literacy centers. Shamia’s mother briefed that Governments schools are following the same old system while these adult literacy centers has a very different way of providing literacy in less time. |
| |
| She also briefed the Azaan’s adult literacy course that any illiterate person can read, write and speak Urdu in just 3 months through phonics based system. Due to this uniqueness this technique these books differs from other courses.
Everybody listened to Shamia’s mother very vigilantly and as a result most of the people showed no fears at last. |
| |
| Shamia continued her center with her immense commitment and put all her efforts in giving effective literacy to the learners. She completed all the three books and people saw that all rumors about the literacy program were false. Shamia praise her mother as she is the only brave woman who is responsible for the success of her center. |
| |
| The change due to the course was that females who attended the course were now able to read utility bills, letters, and medicines prescriptions to their
children and above all they recognized the religion in a very true and positive sense. They used to convey and response more impressively and confidently as compared to others. |
| |
