Guatemala City, Guatemala…[Nicole J. Higgins/Libna Stevens/IAD]
The Adventist Disaster and Relief Agency (ADRA) -Guatemala was given the “Orden de Alfabetización,” or National Literacy Campaign Award, in a special ceremony at the National Palace in Guatemala City. The ceremony, which took place Oct. 27 included over 300 people gathered to honor important participants in the fight against illiteracy in Guatemala.
Mario Rolando Torres Marroquin, Minister of Education, gave recognition to ADRA’s accomplishments during the past year in the quality of program it developed, and its commitment to literacy education in the future.
While this is only the third year the Guatemalan National Movement of Literacy (MONALFA) has been in existence, there has already been an approximate 20 percent drop in the illiteracy rate in the country, reported Torres Marroquin. Though just in the first year of the program, ADRA was nominated for this national award.
Wally Amundson, ADRA director for Inter-America, spoke on behalf of the agency and the church, along with local Adventist church leaders.
According to Amundson, since last year, ADRA Inter-America has been involved in strong literacy programs throughout the IAD territory and will continue on a year-by-year plan in support of this program and Hope for Humanity.
Amundson says that a large number of church members, as well as non-believers are illiterate. “We have many members that joined our church without the benefit of being literate and those members remain illiterate,” he adds.
“ADRA is focusing not only in the community but the church members as well, as a group so that our members do not remain illiterate. In organizing this program, we’re bringing the community and church together, something very important and basic,” says Amundson.
Beginning October 2002, ADRA Guatemala ran a pilot literacy program in partnership with Hope for Humanity consisting of classes taught by volunteer church members in the outskirts of Guatemala City, mostly Chiquimula and Quetzaltenango—cities with a high illiteracy rate among the indigenous people, according to Vicente Navas, ADRA Guatemala director.
The program consists of three basic levels, each lasting a period of six months, covering grades one through six, says project coordinator Cecilia Navas, wife of Vicente Navas.
“The government provides books and school supplies for our volunteer trained church members, or facilitators, to teach in the program, teaching in their own homes or community rooms, sometimes to their neighbors or people in their communities,” says Cecilia Navas.
So far, 581 participants graduated with certification from the Ministry of Education, 80 percent of whom are women. Once the students complete the third level, they can enter government schools for further education.
In the coming year, ADRA Guatemala plans to continue with active literacy programs in three major cities, in addition to developing a program to train children and young people to teach their parents and relatives to read and write.
There are over 13.9 million people in Guatemala, a country located in Central or Middle America, bordering Mexico, El Salvador, Belize and Honduras.
