FYI, from the Bahá'à World News Service. Twi is of course a variety of
the Akan language...
In Ghana, innovative literacy program produces dramatic results
GONUKROM VILLAGE, WESTERN REGION, Ghana
3 December 2007 (BWNS)
For years, Owusu Ansah Malik thought his native language, Twi, was
second-rate. English, the national language of Ghana, was emphasized
at his school.
But a program that offers instruction, books, and mentoring in Twi has
helped the 16-year-old see the value of his mother tongue - and
improved his English literacy at the same time.
"I thought our Ghanaian language was too poor to be learned, since its
teaching was not encouraged," said Owusu, who is in Class Eight at the
Gonukrom Junior Secondary School. "But with this program, I realized
that our language is rich and can be learned. It has also helped me to
read English easily."
Owusu is one of 22,000 students in Ghana who have participated in the
"Enlightening the Hearts" literacy program, which is aimed at helping
young people age 9 to 15 read and write in their own language.
Operated by the Olinga Foundation for Human Development, a
Baha'i-inspired nongovernmental organization, the program has offered
training in more than 260 remote primary and junior secondary schools
in Ghana's Western Region since 2000.
By all accounts Enlightening the Hearts is highly successful, helping
to triple the literacy rates among participants and winning praise
from students, parents, teachers, and government education officials.
"The methodology makes it so simple to acquire language skills," said
Samson Boakye, a teacher at the Anyinabrim primary school. "The
syllabic approach is excellent. Then there is transfer of knowledge
from the Ghanaian language to the English language. Children are
therefore reading the English language fluently."
Along with its distinctive method for teaching literacy, the program
also incorporates elements of moral education by emphasizing virtues
drawn from religious scriptures - another feature that has drawn praise.
"Why I like this program mostly is the moral aspect of the book which
will no doubt help children to become good citizens in the future,"
said Ayyub Yaku Aidoo, a teacher at the Samreboi primary school.
The origins of the project go back to 1996, when the Baha'i community
of Ghana initiated a literacy campaign. It was handed off to the
Olinga Foundation in 2001. The foundation itself was started by a
group of Baha'i educators in 2000.
The foundation was named after Enoch Olinga, one of the first Africans
to accept the Baha'i Faith. Its mission is to promote universal basic
education, to empower young people, and, according to its Web site,
"to build the capacities needed to carry forward an ever-advancing
civilization on the African continent."
In addition to the Enlightening the Hearts literacy campaign, the
Olinga Foundation has three other programs: (1) a capacity-building
program for community leaders, (2) community-development facilitator
training, and (3) a junior youth empowerment project.
In all of its programs, the foundation draws on Baha'i social and
spiritual principles, emphasizing specifically the equality of women
and men, the right to universal basic education, and the need to
eliminate prejudice.
At present, the literacy program reaches the largest population, and
has drawn the most attention. "This is our main program," said Leslie
Casely-Hayford, director of the foundation. "We believe literacy and
moral education are essential to the progress and development of
society."
© 2007 Bahá'à International Community
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