Monday, October 30, 2006

Literacy Workshop in Progress


A literacy training course for Loron teachers is currently taking place here in Gaoua, Burkina Faso.

The course will run from Monday, October 30 until Friday, November 10.

Eight men and two women have come from 6 Loron villages in Ivory Coast to be trained on how to start schools in their villages and how to effectively use the literacy materials we have produced.

Over the past couple of months we have been busy developing, printing and laminating hundreds of literacy booklets and word cards, and finalising lesson plans, and it’s so encouraging to see these materials being put into the hands of a group of enthusiastic and energetic Loron people.

We feel it is extremely important that the Loron learn how to read and write in their own language. Because of the ongoing crisis in Ivory Coast very few schools are operating in the parts of the country outside government control, and we feel we should do all we can to help increase the level of literacy among the Loron in northern Ivory Coast.

The pastors of the local Evangelical Protestant churches (WEC) have been helping us organise food and accommodation for all the folks who have come for the workshop. These pastors (and also the WEC missionaries) have been a real blessing and encouragement ever since we arrived in Burkina in February.