By Alison Hendry | Program Administrator
The Afghan Institute of Learning’s Mobile Literacy program has held 14 mobile literacy classes in 2014 for a total of 430 women and girls and 80% of the students are able to read at a 4th grade level when they complete the four month long course! This number is even more remarkable when you consider that 75% of the students could not read at all when the course began.
Asma was illiterate before beginning our mobile literacy class. She never thought she would be able to read. Now that the class has completed she knows how to read and operate a cell phone. She made so many friends during the class, and without being able to operate a cell phone, her options for staying in touch with her new friends were limited. Because the class combined texting with traditional classroom instruction, she can text and call her new friends and continue the new friendships. Additionally, she developed a good relationship with her teacher, and thanks to her teacher’s encouragement is considering continuing her studies.
While the Taliban was in power, girls were not allowed to attend school. After the Taliban fell, girls were once again allowed to attend school, but many were too far behind. There was an understandable delay in opening government run schools, so many girls fell even further behind. One final barrier they face is that students can only enter the grade that corresponds with their age. A girl name Zohra participated in one of our mobile literacy classes, and has been able to get to a high enough reading level that she decided to taken an entrance exam for her to enter the proper grade at a local government school! We are so happy for Zohra, and wish her the best on her exam.
Thank you again for supporting our innovative program combining text messaging with traditional literacy education. As the situation in Afghanistan continues to change, your support becomes more important than ever in helping AIL to educate the women and girls of Afghanistan. We thank you for being part of our team!
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