Family Literacy Project
South Africa
Photo by Roy Reed
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The Family Literacy Project (FLP), which began in
2000, focuses on mothers, as the first and most important
educators of their children. As part of the program,
they are taught literacy
and given basic skills
training. Children’s early
literacy and school readiness
are also integral parts
of the program.
The goal is to make literacy
a valued skill within
families and communities.
Ultimately, the program
seeks to develop a critical
mass of community members, children and adults,
who see literacy as important and enjoyable and can
spread the message to others.
“When I first arrived I did not know some of the
things that were being taught, but now I know a lot of
things,” said Annastasia Nzimande Ndodeni. “I am
able to teach my children and my neighbor’s children.”
To help support literacy, FLP furnishes each participating
community with a library—sometimes a simple
box of books, in other cases a brick building. The
books are available to all members of the community.
The objective is to instill in rural villagers the habits of
borrowing books, reading, and discussing new ideas.
The program has gone through an external evaluation
each year since its inception. The evaluations focus
largely on improvements in life skills or changes in
intra-familial behaviors rather than on meeting statistical
targets. The numbers are gratifying, nevertheless,
with over 90 percent of participants in 2005 passing
their adult literacy exams.
Upon completion of extensive interviews with participants,
the 2005 evaluation summed up the program’s
success: [Participants]… “greatly value this project and
it is enabling them to help their families. The children
confirm this message: they are thrilled and proud that
their mothers are in this project and they themselves
are benefiting profoundly from it.”
FLP’s success has not gone unnoticed. In 2003, it won
second prize in the UDV/Guinness Adult Literacy
competition. In 2004, the Adult Literacy Network
named one group the most outstanding adult literacy
group in the KwaZulu Natal (KZN) province. The following
year, the network recognized a program participant
as the most outstanding adult learner in KZN,
and a staffer as the most outstanding adult educator in
KZN and South Africa.
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