If you pause a moment to reflect on the smiles of Eva (right) our Mothers of the Forest facilitator and Esther, one of the Mothers, you’ll see our women’s empowerment group has gone from strength to strength.
The Challenges
Since February this year, they’ve been arriving at their twice monthly meetings 2 hours early for lessons. They undertake an hour of Kiswahili and English, and an hour of maths, both provided by local educator, Michael Jefwa.
The results from sitting their first ever literacy exams have just arrived and they are mind-blowingly brilliant.
Find out more about the lead up to this event, here.
The largest class consists of a group of Mothers who have never received any formal education. They truly believed that any form of learning was surely going to pass them by. Over 2/3 of the group attained a C grade or above. Two women attained A grades and everyone was thrilled to have done so well, and also to have had the opportunity to sit them at all!
The average grade from the set of Mothers who had received a little primary and secondary education, was an A with a mean score of 92%. One student remarked, it was beyond anything she thought possible.
The Changes
These phenomenal tree planting women are better equipped than ever before to continue to lift themselves out of poverty.
It’s all very well having amazing harvests from the fruit and nut trees you’re helping them plant but it’s no good if you’re unable to sell the excess because you can’t count out a money exchange, or write simple signs about your wares.
Being able to read and write is absolutely life changing, not just for the Mothers of the Forest but for their entire families. They’re actively sharing their new-found knowledge, spreading the learning far and wide.
You good people are directly responsible for enabling this amazing achievement to happen by financially supporting our charity! Our heartfelt thanks go out to you all.
The Team
If you’d like to support our Mothers of the Forest education programme with an additional donation, please click here.
