Roqia Centre for Adult Literacy

Project:  Two Adult Literacy Courses for Couples
Partner: Roqia Centre (registered under KabulTec)
Location: Mazar-e-Sharif
Term: twelve months
Canadian Donor Support: US$15,000; twelve months

The literacy rate in Afghanistan today is one of the lowest among developing countries. According to the 2010 UNDP Human Development Report on Afghanistan, only 28.0 percent of all Afghans over the age of 15 -- 8.2 percent of women and 48.0 percent of men -- are able to read and write. Indicators showing increasing school enrolment rate have little impact on Afghanistan’s current illiterate population, which consists primarily of adults who are the country’s family and community decision makers. This group is also most affected by the duration and devastation of war.

Low education levels and high illiteracy rates affect many parts of a society. It translates into a lack of awareness of basic rights in the legal system, low capacity levels in government and community institutions, and high unemployment. Not only does high illiteracy hamper the degree to which the country can rely on its own human resources for reconstruction and development, but also the degree to which morbidity and mortality can be prevented through awareness. Moreover, it impedes good governance and positive development of democracy.

The Roqia Center conducts an innovative literacy program for couples in some of the poorest neighborhoods in Kabul and Balkh provinces. The program started seven years ago and brings adult couples to a fourth grade level of literacy and arithmetic within one year. This program empowers women and men alike, and heals family relations. The Roqia Center has also added components to the program that have increased students’ other skill sets, such as knowledge of their rights, constitution, democracy, hygiene, family dignity and family planning. Funding under this contract will cover the costs of two seven-month adult literacy courses for couples in Mazar estimated at $8,000 plus a total of $7,000 to be applied towards the 2012 operating expenses for the Roqia Centre.