Lydia's Literacy Class

Wednesday February 12, 2014 

Lydia's Literacy Class

Just before we traveled home for a visit in November, the women of Kainga had asked me to help them with their Chichewa literacy class. I told them that we would love to be involved in their literacy class. Of course, there was a long interval between the time we were asked to help and the beginning of our new sessions of classes in January, and they may have thought we forgot, but that wasn't the case. We wanted whatever we gave them to be practical, versatile and durable. 

We described what we had in mind and gave specific measurements to a young carpenter, Jeremiah, who helped us acquire materials necessary to build two easels which would double as a chart paper stand and a blackboard. There is no Home Depot, so acquiring the materials was not as easy as it may sound. 

First, George drove Jeremiah out to a market in Chinimwale where men were milling logs  by hand into what is locally called  "timbers." It is always fascinating to watch as two men with a long logger's saw cut with precision a large section of tree trunk into long boards.  We found the chalkboard paint, the clear varnish and brushes in a little hardware shop called Mechno's. The chain and hinges to support the easel came from a little booth inside the market, and we found the chalk in at a little copy shop  by the bus depot in downtown Zomba. When all the materials were finally collected, Jeremiah started the  project. 

While the work was in progress, George and and I drove out to Kainga to get a first hand look at the program.  When we arrived, the women were sitting on the bare ground among a cluster of homes just by the mosque. 

A woman named Lydia, the teacher, sat with a semicircle of about a dozen women clustered closely around her.  She was teaching them the names of vowels and their sounds. Some of the women had scraps of pages from an old notepad, and others had small paperback booklets, each with about 10 pages. Some of the women had no materials at all, and I watched as other women in the group tore their notebooks in half to share with their friends. Their pencils were all just well worn stubs. 

Lydia had cut the top and bottom out of a large tin can, old and brown with rust. Then she cut down the length one side to make a flat writing surface. She laid it in the circle of women and was using a piece of charred wood to write the vowels for her students to copy. 

One of the women proudly showed me a page of vowels in her notebook, saying, "This is my first writing," and of course, I commended  her for her work. Obviously, these women were making a great effort to be resourceful, although they had almost no resources. 

As I was observing this class, my mind went back to some of the well furnished classrooms in which I have taught over the years. I thought about how readily available materials for teaching and learning are in the developed world and how they are generally taken completely for granted.

Our visit to this class made it very clear that any help we could give would be valued and very much appreciated. George and I knew that we wanted to do more to encourage the women to continue learning. So, on our very next visit, we gave each woman a notebook and pen. 

I am happy to say the easels are finally built, and today Jeremiah primed and  varnished them. He will come back tomorrow to apply the blackboard paint, and after they dry, they will be ready! We are really looking forward to presenting Lydia with the easel, chalk, and chart paper when we return to the village on Saturday. 

Our desire is to bless these women and encourage them to continue learning and that God will use these gifts to help us build closer relationships in the community as He prepares them to receive the Gospel.