RUTSIRO - Residents of Rutsiro district who are pursuing adult literacy programs have hailed the programme as useful and fundamental for them to enjoy basic rights and opportunities.

The beneficiaries have affirmed that acquiring literacy skills has given them a sense of self confidence and control over their lives and their future.

"We have been able to improve our livelihoods and the future of our children also looks brighter. Most parents now understand that unlike in the past, there is no reason for denying girls and women an education because it is a basic
right and an absolute condition of reaching all the internationally agreed development goals,” Adolph Musabyimana said.

Musabyimana is one of 10,000 people estimated to be pursuing the training programme, of which more than half of them are women.

The trainees are convinced that investing in women’s
literacy is very important and carries high returns since it has positive effects on all development indicators such as child and maternal health.

Testimonies from newly educated women attest to the fact that new knowledge and skills have significantly affected all aspects of their lives. "Illiteracy keeps women marginalised and this is the major obstacle in reducing
poverty in this generation and many others to come,” Immaculate Mukamana, one of the women training under this program observed.

She pointed out that due to widespread poverty, adult literacy is an opportunity fit to embrace. In partnership with the Ministry of Education, a total of 298 youth who just completed secondary school have been trained and equipped with all the necessary teaching materials to act as adult literacy tutors on a voluntary basis.

Fresh statistics from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) indicate that two out of every three of the world’s 759 million illiterate adult are women.

Ends