Patty Duthler engaging a group of students in a stifling makeshift classroom in Las Americas, the “temporary” housing complex funded by USAID for earthquake survivors in Nicaragua. circa 1973-1974. Elfariazia and 14 other adults from her community recently graduated from the literacy class run by the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC), now known as World Renew, and its partner the Reformed Church of Mozambique (IRM). They are not alone, since 2,000 World Renew and IRM have run literacy programs in 32 Mozambique communities, benefiting more than 4,000 learners. These adults have learned to read, write, do basic math, run a small business, and take up leadership roles in their community.

Elfariazia and 14 other adults from her community recently graduated from the literacy class run by the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC), now known as World Renew, and its partner the Reformed Church of Mozambique (IRM). They are not alone, since 2,000 World Renew and IRM have run literacy programs in 32 Mozambique communities, benefitting more than 4,000 learners. These adults have learned to read, write, do basic math, run a small business, and take up leadership roles in their community.

In a country where 70% of the population lives below the poverty line and 52% of adults are illiterate, this is worthy of celebration. And that’s only in Mozambique. World Renew has similar literacy programs in 12 other countries around the world – Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Laos, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Malawi, Zambia, Mali, and Niger.

“Universal schooling is still a dream in many countries,” explains Leanne Talen Geisterfer, the Team Leader for World Renew programs in Latin America. “In my experience, all parents would like to send their children to school. They believe it is a way for them to get ahead and make a future for themselves. Most parents are willing to make great sacrifices for their children’s schooling. Unfortunately, in many countries public schools only exist in urban centers or large villages. Where they do exist, many families are not able to afford the uniforms and supplies that are required for their children to attend. Children who haven’t attended school soon turn into illiterate adults.”

To address this situation, World Renew works through local churches and grassroots partners, such as IRM, to provide literacy classes. This has been a central component of its ministry since the early 1970’s.

Patty Duthler who served in Nicaragua and Costa Rica from 1973-1976 was one of the first World Renew/CRWRC employees to focus on literacy. Fresh out of Calvin College, Duthler worked alongside a local non-profit organization that was already involved in literacy work.

“ALFALIT was in existence when I came,” she said. “ALFALIT is an acronym for the Spanish words alfabetizacion for literacy and literatura for literature. CRWRC came across them when they were responding to the 1972 earthquake in Nicaragua. CRWRC at that time wanted to have a multi-pronged approach to community development. Literacy was a key component of that effort. The organization searched for a strategic Christian partner in that sector, and found ALFALIT.”

“I got to see classes in action,” said Duthler. “It was a really grassroots organization. There were little classes in schools, churches, community centers and even people’s homes. Many of the promoters didn’t have educations beyond grade three themselves.”

ALFALIT was started by Justo and Luisa Gonzalez, Christians who recognized that the poor in Latin America were powerless in part because they lacked an education. At that time, the region of Latin America was undergoing great change. Corrupt and dictatorial governments were common and underground movements were encouraging people to rise up against those in authority. Pablo Freire, a Brazilian educator and philosopher, came out with a book in 1970 that encouraged educating the poor and oppressed so that they could recognize their plight and revolt.

“ALFALIT loosely based their philosophy on the teachings of Freire, but lost the socialist aspects,” said Duthler. “Their goal was literacy not for the sake of revolution, but for the sake of helping people learn to read. They used Freire’s principles of grassroots training and using common objects to teach literacy, and put a Christian context around it. There is no dignity in being poor or illiterate. They wanted to bring literacy to people because they felt that all humans deserved to know how to read and write.”

For the first six months, Duthler worked alongside the ALFALIT country director in Nicaragua. She taught English classes, played sports with kids, and got to know the ALFALIT literacy promoters. These promoters were mostly pastors of small congregations and were the ones who would travel to various villages to lead literacy classes.

“I got to see classes in action,” said Duthler. “It was a really grassroots organization. There were little classes in schools, churches, community centers and even people’s homes. Many of the promoters didn’t have educations beyond grade three themselves.”

After her first six months, Duthler was given a grant by CRWRC to do an in depth evaluation of the literacy program in Nicaragua in order to assess its effectiveness and make recommendations for improvements.

“We used that evaluation as a jumping off point for the next year and half of my work in Costa Rica,” she said. “Through a grant from the Canadian International development Agency, I led a pilot project to provide technical assistance and oversight to ALFALIT program staff in Guatemala, El Salvador, Colombia and the Dominican Republic.”

She was joined by an educational expert from New York who taught educational principles to ALFALIT staff while Duthler shared with them her grassroots experiences and practical approaches to teaching. Their goal was to provide these teachers with a curriculum for new readers to a grade eight level and help them use this curriculum to get better results. They also travelled to see these education classes in action.

“People would sit on wooden benches rapt with attention. These were folks who had already worked long hours and long weeks in the field, making food, and taking care of kids. The classes would be held in the evening or on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. They were designed to always be at the convenience of the students,” said Duthler.

Today, those lessons learned and shared in Latin America and elsewhere in the 1970’s have spread, grown, and been adapted around the world and are being utilized by 31 of World Renew/CRWRC’s 87 partners.

Even today, these classes aren’t without their challenges. In remote areas where there is no electricity, classes often take place by kerosene lamp. Many classes occur in churches with dirt floors and benches without backs. Participants often write on their laps because they don’t have desks, and may share textbooks, chalkboards, and even pencils due to limited supplies.

“I remember one class in an area that was infested with mosquitoes,” said Geisterfer. “The participants were slapping themselves all through the lesson and I wondered how they could learn anything. In another class, when it rained the noise on the tin roof made it impossible to hear. They would find a place where the roof didn’t leak and wait for the rain to pass in order to finish the class. You have to really want to learn to put up with some of these conditions.”

The participants really do want to learn. Many had to leave school at a young age because their parents couldn’t afford school fees. In the case of many women, they didn’t have the opportunity to go to school at all because their parents chose to educate their male children instead. Now, through World Renew and their local church, they are being given an opportunity to get the education they had longed for.

“One of my favorite activities is attending the graduation ceremony of a literacy group,” says Geisterfer. “Often the graduates demonstrate their new skill by reading a Bible passage or writing their name on a board. The pride they take in these skills and the joy of receiving a certificate is contagious. Society’s requirements and expectations have made them feel like second class citizens for many years. There are so many transactions that require a signature or the ability to read: voting, receiving a government identification card, buying or selling property, and registering a child’s birth. In some cases, they are able to sign with a thumb print, but many confess that the black stain on their thumb is a symbol of shame.

“Being able to read and write makes them feel more human because of the stigmas that society has placed on illiterate people. Literacy also opens the door to improved skills training, higher education, more active participation in church and community development activities, more employment possibilities, and even helping their own children do their school homework.”