Never too Old to Learn: Iqra Fund’s Adult Literacy Program

Haji Rasool lives in Hushe Valley with his wife and children, and works as a cook for mountain climbers during climbing season. Now in his mid-sixties, Haji Rasool has been a long-time supporter of Iqra Fund, and was one of the early participants in our adult literacy program. The video above is of Haji reading the alphabet.

 

At Iqra Fund, we believe that everyone has the right to an education, regardless of their age, gender, or economic or social circumstances. When we first started working in Northern Pakistan in 2011, we found that the parents of so many of the girls and boys we were enrolling in school also weren’t educated – they never had the opportunity to go to school. We also found that their interest levels were high; they wanted to be able to fully support their children’s education, and a big part of that meant learning how to read and write for themselves.

In response to what we witnessed, we started our adult literacy program in 2012 in partnership with the National Commission of Human Development. The program provides basic education to parents, particularly mothers who never enrolled or dropped out of school before acquiring basic skills. Currently, there are 45 students in the adult literacy center in Hushe, and we recently established a second center in Doko village, located in Basha Valley, which has another 80 students.

The results so far have been heartwarming and encouraging, for Iqra Fund as will as for the community. People like Haji Rasool are learning to read and write for the first time, and are learning how life changing an education can be. They are more convinced than ever that all children in their communities must go to school, a vision that we share and are working hard to achieve.