40 years waiting to read and write

Roseline Phiri is a resilient individual who has faced adversity that would knock a lesser woman down. She never wavered to overcome her shortcomings.

In 2002, Phiri graduated as an adult literacy learner at the age of 40. Two decades later, she owns a shop that brings food on her table,  a milestone that overshadows her difficult journey.

“I watched several opportunities come and go because I could not read and write. I was trapped in the jaws of illiteracy for so long,” she says.

Born in a family of four (three female, and a male) in Maloza Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) M’mbelwa in Mzimba District, the 61-year-old had a difficult childhood.

Narrates Phiri: “I wanted to go to school from an early age, but my parents lost the desire to pay school fees after my two sisters got pregnant while in school.

“My mum told me she did not have money to waste on me. Instead, she focused on educating my younger brother.” 

She had a glimmer of hope when her uncle took her to Lilongwe where she enrolled at Chitedze Primary School, but she encountered a language barrier the first day she entered class.

“I could not speak nor understand Chichewa, as such, it was difficult to learn anything,” she says.

Phiri returned to her home village in Mzimba the same year as her uncle got transferred to Rumphi District. Two years later, she got married.

“People say marriage is a blessing, but mine was different. For three years, my husband did not have a job and life was tough. Only when he got employed at St Paul’s Parish in Mzimba as a cook for the church’s priests did our situation improve,” she says.

Phiri’s first sight of a job was at a maize mill where she failed because she lacked basic numerical skills. She also struggled to communicate in English with Catholic sisters who were mostly white.

In 2002, the Missionary of Immaculate Conception (MIC) sisters introduced adult literacy education, also known as Sukulu ya Kwacha, where she enrolled.

One of the first pioneers of the school, Clement Ngwira, said they introduced it  because the survey they conducted in the district at that time, revealed that many adults did not know how to read and write.

Ngwira, a retired teacher who also taught at Domasi College of Education in Zomba, volunteered to train teachers how to handle adult learners. He also translated ‘Moyo ndi chuma’, a learning textbook, from Chichewa to Chitumbuka.

Phiri was determined to succeed despite being mocked by neighbours and friends.

“I told myself that I would do everything to succeed. I wanted to read, at least bus posters rather than always asking around,” she laughs.

Sadly, Phiri’s husband passed away six months after she completed the adult literacy education. She says her life could have turned worse if it was not for the education she attained.

She says: “I do not know if it was a coincidence, but being a widow  with no child to support me, the only way I could help myself was through the little business I was doing. That required basic literacy skills.

“I know simple arithmetic besides reading and writing. I am a member of St Agnes Choir at St Paul’s Parish and I also read the Bible which is now my favourite book.”

There are over 10 000 adult education centres operating across the country, according to the National Adult Literacy and Education Policy of 2019. These centres are run by the government and other stakeholders such as faith and community-based organisations and the private sector.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), Save the Children and World Vision are some of the international organisations helping the cause.

However, despite the apparent impressive coverage and a series of interventions stretching back to the colonial era, the problem of illiteracy and functional skills remains intractable in the country.

According to Unesco Institute of Statistics, Malawi’s literacy rate is pegged at 67.75 percent of the adult population, those aged 15 and above. This means that there are around seven million people in the country who cannot read and write.

M’mbelwa District Council principal community development officer Topsy Kachere called on development partners to support and invest in adult literacy education, saying it is part of government’s effort to eradicate illiteracy, a major barrier to people’s development and welfare.

He observes that some adults, especially males, fail to attend the school because either they feel shy or simply undermine adult literacy education.

Kachere condemns the attitude, saying for children to be well educated, they need literate parents and guardians.

He says Malawi 2063, the country’s long-term development strategy, strives to build human capital through access to quality education which is in line with Sustainable Development Goal number four target 4.6 of ensuring that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy by the year 2030.