Community empowerment through enhanced literacy

Alex Coutts | View as single page |
Attainment Map Community Evidence Areas Strength Transferability Editors Introduction Initial Study Five Monitoiring Planned Implementing Matriculant Further Graduation flexible Local Straightforward 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Introduction

For some years an adult literacy programme called Masifundisane (Zulu: ‘teach one; teach all’, or ‘teach each other.’) operated in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, under the provincial Department of Education. It was directed by Mrs Cynthia Mpati. While it operated it held out great hope for the most impoverished citizens to better their lives and achieve greater dignity. Many of the elderly people who engaged with it had seen their opportunities for a sound education evaporate during the apartheid era. The programme set out to redress these discriminations. It lasted from 2006 to 2008 and finished because the primary objective of fostering widespread literacy was considered to have been sufficiently achieved.

This MESHGuide provides a historically-grounded overview of the project.