Data & Evidence

Shaheen, 40, was asking me (Tom) a simple and yet deep question: ‘How can I learn to read at this age?’ I responded to her confidently, that if she worked hard she would certainly be able to. She struggled for the first few lessons, compounded by the embarrassment of onlookers watching and sometimes mocking her.
As it turned out, Shaheen was one of our fastest learners ever – she went from unable to recognise a letter, to reading sentences fluently, in just one month. Important as that skill is for her practically, I think its greatest significance is the impact it has had on her self-confidence. Once, after she read a story fluently, I reminded her of the self-doubts she had expressed back on that first day. She chuckled, as if to say, “that was a long time ago”. She now sometimes helps us teach her own daughter, Shazia, how to read.

Shagufta was not enrolled in school when I (Tom) first met her. Her mother had some appreciation of the value of education, but finances were tight, as her father often drinks alcohol. Further, Shagufta’s mother doubted her ability to learn well at school. However, over a period of 3 months of 15 minute sessions several times a week, Shagufta learnt to read quite well. Her mother, impressed with this rapid improvement, enrolled her in the local school. She’s still in school, in Grade 3 now, learning well and enjoying her friends.

“One of the children I (Jon) work with is a 7 year old girl whose family is very poor. They have seen great misfortune in their lives, and rarely does she get the attention she needs, so she skips school and her behaviour is often terrible. However, when I initiated the literacy program with her, I saw her focus her attention for the first time, even though she could only recognize two letters at first. Since then, the attention that I have seen her give to every lesson is amazing. It was very difficult for her to learn how to focus her mind to read a word for the first time. It took her three lessons to be able to put letters together correctly, but today, she is successfully reading two-letter words.”

The first students to become literate through the Global Dream program were Inama, Heena, and Mushkan. Each one of them had their own struggles with school which had kept them from literacy. Inama was a diligent student who studied hard but had difficulties with the rote learning methodology in her school and found it impossible to memorize the letters. Heena was a quick learner but spent most of her day working and thus had little time for study. And Mushkan suffered from a liver ailment that had kept her from attending school. Despite these difficulties, these three girls each learnt to read in just 1 to 2 months. Their efforts showed us from the beginning that the dream of literacy for all really was possible. If we're willing to bring the program to the people who need it, there are many other barriers that can be overcome.