What is the initiative and where is it implemented (city or country, for example)?
In 2017, The Congo Literacy Project (CLP) was introduced by women leaders in the Mennonite churches in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Youth and adults aged 15 years and over, especially girls and women from rural areas, who cannot attend school, are the programme’s core target group.
CLP also organized classes in areas affected by violence in the Kasai region in 2016 and 2017. The conflict resulted in 1.5 million people fleeing their homes and being unable to receive education as a result. The most significant proportion of learners are women who either did not complete or did not attend school.
The Programme fights coercion against and suffering of women in the Mennonite community. The Congo Literacy Project has been implemented in Kasai, Kasai-Central, Kinshasa, Kwilu and Kasai-Oriental. The initiative's aims include offering education and literacy through churches and supporting women empowerment to help them take charge of their own lives, both socially and economically, while developing self-respect. In addition, CLP’s long-term goal is to provide approximately 700 Mennonite congregations with at least one professionally trained tutor in the DRC. Most congregation members are women who lack basic literacy skills and live in rural areas.
How was the initiative established? How was it implemented?
The Congo Literacy Project has been running since 2017. The initiative includes 60 lessons as an introductory course in writing and reading in the Congolese regional lingua franca. The course can be completed within three months, although the average duration is around six months due to irregularities in attendance.
Problems have arisen due to political turmoil and the challenges of daily life in DRC. Additionally, despite the official language in the country being French, regional languages are more relevant for day-to-day spoken and written communication. Very few adults who have not joined the formal local schooling system speak the official language. In contrast, almost everyone speaks one or more regional languages.
The adult literacy programmes provided by CLP are being led in the Congolese national languages of Lingala, Kikongo, Tshiluba and Swahili. Instead of creating a separate infrastructure, CLP trains project members from every congregation to facilitate educational processes. The initiative also helps turn education into a part of the church's mission. Literacy classes are held primarily in churches and students are invited from congregations and surrounding neighbourhoods. At times, organizers hold classes in their own houses or the open air due to the lack of a suitable physical classroom.
Which stakeholders are involved in the design and/or implementation of the initiative? Which sectors do they represent?
The Congo Literacy Programme depends financially on individual donors who usually make donations to help the project attain its desired goals. Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission (AIMM for short) leads the programme’s implementation. AIMM is a full partner of both the Congo Literacy Project and the European and North American churches. In addition, AIMM has national boards in Canada and the United States of America for financial and legal drives, although the major decisions are made in the African branch of the organization.
What are the impacts of the initiative in terms of facilitating lifelong learning? Who does it benefit and how?
The initiative has demonstrated a significant impact in terms of facilitating lifelong learning. A total of 131 volunteers were trained to hold literacy courses in 103 centres. Furthermore, about 2,600 learners took part in CLP in 2019. The majority of them come from a specific group of vagrant youth. However, upon completing the sessions, some participants were willing to continue the programme to learn French. These learners usually enter the Congo Literacy Project unable to read and write their names and leave fluent in one of the Congolese national languages. In addition, the programme has contributed significantly to women’s empowerment in the community and church. Many of the participants can read the Bible and take part in community development activities.
References
UIL. 2020. The Congo Literacy Project (The Democratic Republic of Congo). [Online] Hamburg, UIL. Available at: https://uil.unesco.org/case-study/effective-practices-database-litbase-0/congo-literacy-project-democratic-republic-congo [Accessed 11 December 2021].