Imagine selling your harvest…
… and having no way of knowing whether you’ve been paid properly. For many adults in rural Burundi, that’s everyday life. But in Kirundo, things are starting to change.
Only 1 in 3 children in Burundi complete lower secondary school. And many never make it that far, particularly in Burundi’s rural communities, where a lot of adults never have the chance to learn to read and write. Usually it is due to poverty in the family.
The implications of illiteracy lasts a lifetime. It holds people back financially; it carries real shame, and for many Christians it can be a barrier to growing in their faith too.
Kirundo sits in the north of the country, on the border with Rwanda. Here, Restoration Burundi runs an adult literacy programme that teaches people to read and write. Recently, the learners sat their reading and writing tests and passed with flying colours. Afterwards, they shared why they’d taken the opportunity to learn.
Emelyne, 30, is a mother of three, and for years, not being able to read or count money properly cost Emelyne dearly. “You sell beans or maize, and the trader uses a calculator, weighs the kilos and hands you the money, but you can’t check the amount,” she says. “When you get home, you find you’ve been cheated.”
This isn’t fair! And it reached beyond her purse. Emelyne is a Christian, and she’s sometimes asked to lead services at church. “Not being able to read was a big challenge,” she says. But not any more! “Now I can read well,” she says. “God bless you for coming to teach us how to read and write.”
Denise grew up in a poor family. Although she enrolled in school, she dropped out soon after because of frequent illness and the lack of access to healthcare.
“When my husband started dating me, my friends had to read all the messages he sent me. When I asked them to reply, they sent back the wrong messages and mocked me.” Today, she says the literacy program has transformed her life.
“It has started removing some barriers, especially talking to my husband. Now I personally can text him.”
Learning to read as an adult takes courage. It means sitting in a classroom years after everyone expected you to, and admitting what you couldn’t do. The learners in Kirundo chose to do it anyway.
Their new skill ripples across every dimension of life. When a woman who used to be illiterate can check what she’s paid, read Scripture for herself and stand up in church with confidence – it also inspires others. It gradually changes the status quo, and gives momentum to a movement of education which could change the direction of a nation.
