Spotlight literacy: Kombaté Koagbéne from Togo tells her story

Kombaté Koagbéne

What does it mean to learn reading and writing as an adult? What are the challenges, and how does it change your life? We posed these questions to learners from our African partner countries.

Kombaté Koagbéne is 33 years old and lives in the community of Tandjouré in the Savanes Region in Togo.

Why did you want to learn to read and write?

I wanted to learn to read and write for the simple reason that I wasn’t able to learn as a child. My parents didn’t want me to go to school. It was more important for them that I look after my little brothers and take the animals to the pasture.

What is the most difficult thing about learning as an adult?

The most difficult thing for me is that through learning I lose time that I actually need for my economic activities. It’s also not easy for me, at my age, to be compared to a school girl. Sometimes I’m ashamed to be going to school at the same time as my child. 

What does learning mean for you? How has your life changed?

Learning means a lot for me: Firstly, I can finally catch up on what I missed at school. Secondly, I can develop personally: The things I’ve learned here have taken away my fear and insecurity. Before I took the course, I hardly trusted myself to say anything out loud. Now I can stand in front of a group and even speak to you. Besides that, I can now understand what my child writes on his slate. I know what the letters a, o, i mean – and that makes me really happy. Now I can read the amounts of ingredients and recipes and bake the peanut cake myself that we produce here in the group.

What message would you like to give to other adults who cannot read or write?

Everyone, who like me never went to school, I’d like to encourage to walk in our footsteps and attend a literacy course! The ticket sellers can’t trick me anymore because I can read the numbers 50, 100 and 200 on the banknotes. Adult education is a wonderful opportunity for those of us who as children never had the good fortune to go to school.

 

Literacy – a global challenge

To be able to read and write is not a natural matter of course for many people. There are still at least 750 million people around the world who cannot read or write, two-thirds of them are women. Due to that, their participation in social and economic life is strongly restricted.

In Africa especially, the illiteracy rate is still high. DVV International is committed to enable access to education for as many people as possible in its African partner countries. Sustainable educational structures are essential for this to happen. DVV International carries out lobby work and advises governments, reenforces educational institutions and develops concepts for innovative educational offers for adults.

The literacy courses supported by DVV International meld reading, writing and numeracy skills with, for example, areas like health, farming, business startups or civic education. This benefits women in particular and promotes their independence and participation in community life.

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