The Women’s Association of Totora Pampa initiates a program to help illiterate people
In many rural areas of Bolivia there are adult women who, in spite of the educational improvements of the last decade, remain illiterate. They never had the opportunity to study: there weren’t schools near their towns, or their parents decided that women didn’t need to prepare themselves academically.
A while ago the Association of Women in the area of Totora Pampa informed us of the necessity and desire of many women to study. When they go to the cities to sell potatoes, llamas, sheep, pigs and chickens, they suffer because they don’t know how to read: for those who are illiterate, something as simple as locating an address becomes a problem. Furthermore, in order to obtain identification documents, birth and marriage certificates, school records and bills of sale, it is necessary to be able to read. Otherwise, they can easily be the victims of errors, deceptions or shams.
In response to this problem, José, an agricultural engineer, and Lourdes, an accountant, have started literacy classes for adults. José and Lourdes are a married couple who, in conjunction with the Community of St. Paul, are involved in several agricultural projects and reforestation of the area. Each afternoon they dedicate two hours to teaching literacy to 16 women between the ages of 22 and 72. The gathering finishes by sharing coffee and bread. We hope that there are many more who wish to learn to read and write in order to do business, build their self-esteem and achieve so many goals for which literacy is needed!
