Working with a local partner in the Sierra Leonean refugee camps of Guinea, Education For Development trained community facilitators in literacy and conflict resolution. An education programme was run by the facilitators in the camps for two years, in extremely difficult circumstances.
Education and Community Rebuilding in Sierra Leone
This project began in 2000, before the official end of the ten year civil war in Sierra Leone and built on our work with Sierra Leonean refugees in Guinea. The aim of the project was to construct two community learning centres for young people affected by war and offer vocational training skills with literacy. We worked in two areas of the country, Bo and Kambia, and training and capacity-building involved extensive collaboration between the two centres.
The project trained community literacy facilitators and targeted activities where there was no local provision. Vocational training opportunities were diverse, covering agricultural extension, hairdressing, construction, gara-dying, and woodwork.
Empowering The Gambia’s deaf community through employment, literacy and sign language support
Education For Development supported the Gambia Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (GADHOH) in the development of a literacy and deaf sign programme for young deaf people in the Gambia with a major grant from Comic Relief. We trained deaf workers as tutors for youths who, because of their disability, have had no access to schooling and developed a training and employment scheme with local businesses. Capacity was extended to the rural areas, with GADHOH branches in Soma and Farafeni. A community learning centre and HQ was constructed in Banjul, with support from a range of international partners, including Education For Development. The project also developed a sign language dictionary for The Gambia.
Children at the GADHOH Learning Centre
Rebuilding Communities in South Sudan
This three year project in South Sudan was one of Education for Development’s projects in conflict and post-conflict contexts, which has resulted in the development of an approach to literacy with war-affected communities. There are two essential aspects: the approach to adult literacy and the integration of conflict resolution and peacebuilding.
The incorporation of conflict resolution and peacebuilding into literacy has developed gradually from work in Guinea and Sierra Leone as well as South Sudan.
As a result of this project our partner SEM has developed expertise and a strong team in literacy and conflict resolution. Six learning centres have been established where sessions take place at times appropriate to the learners.
The project published a well-received and substantial training manual Integrated Literacy and Peacebuilding:
A guide for trainers and facilitators which consists of an extensive range of activities both for the training of trainers and for use in literacy circles for adults.
This is available from Education For Development, for £10 plus £5 P+P.
