Africa Literacy Project

God is transforming thousands of lives in Africa through the Village Church Planting (VCP) ministry of One Mission Society. Every day, six new churches are established in Africa through this dynamic ministry of evangelism, discipleship and leadership training.Â Multiple denominations are involved in more than 15 countries. But these churches are being planted in villages where only 10% to 40% of adults know how to read and write.

The Africa Literacy Project was born as the result of a reflection by Theo Burakeye, then Great Lakes Supervisor of the VCP. Theo told Dean Davis, OMS Director for Every Community for Christ, about having given a Bible to a woman who said, “Thank you for the Bible. I wish I could read it.” When Dean asked Connie Schwein if she’d like to use her experience as an adult literacy trainer to help people in African villages learn to read and write, the project began to be developed. To find out more about the beginning of the project, click here.

Who are we assisting?

The project is designed to teach adults and out of school youth in communities where churches have been recently established, to read, calculate and write.Â The churches in these villages have asked for help with literacy for everyday reading and writing, for math in the workplace, for health literacy and for people who want to read the Bible.

We began a two year pilot in September 2010 in the countries of Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The project will empower villagers to access the whole written text of the Bible, be better disciples of Jesus, as well as better heads of households, better church members and better citizens. It is designed to take them from a low or non-existent level of literacy to a functional level of literacy in two years. This literacy project will contribute both to the development of churches and villages where government literacy programs do not exist, and to the development of nations. In 2012 we hope to begin working with OneHope and village church planters in the Central African Republic.

Trainers worship outside in the courtyard before starting the day’s work in Kigali.

How do we make a difference?

The Africa Literacy Project sends literacy trainers to countries where the village church planters are ready to respond to a request for literacy. We train the pastoral trainers as literacy tutor trainers. They work with the local pastors who recruit and train village volunteers as tutors.

When did this pilot get started?

With the help of two translators in September of 2010, Connie taught the Bridge to Reading to 13 VCP trainers who support 120 village churches in Burundi and the DRC. The local Literacy and Evangelism, Inc. missionary, Martin Ntahonkiriye, taught them how to teach phonics in either Kirundi or Swahili. The trainers returned to their regions and reached out to the local pastors to recruit volunteers in their churches who wanted to become tutors.

Are people learning to read and write?

In the first year of the pilot there has been dramatic growth. Sixteen African tutor trainers have recruited and trained 152 tutors who are teaching reading, writing, and basic math to 2,237 teens and adults. 57% of the students are teens and more than half of the total (1,260) are women. There have been 103 decisions to follow Jesus as Lord and Savior as a result of the literacy ministry.

At the conclusion of this first year, 1,776 students report that they can read and like to read. They are ready to receive the OneHope chronological Bible story book to read as families.

Trainers Georges and Mukunga practice techniques of the Bridge to Reading.

The goal is to train at least two tutors in each of the local churches. Each volunteer will tutor groups of 10-15 students for three hours a week. The tutors will track the progress of their students across two years. The Africa Literacy Project will get feedback from trainers and tutors to be able to provide additional, timely training and support to:

improve recruitment and retention of tutors
provide additional instructional strategies for tutors
help make literacy an evangelism tool in the villages

The winter 2012 issue of the One Mission Society magazine Outreach carried this testimony from Veronique Nzigire in Walungu (DRC) who, with a son and daughter, is learning to read at one of the centers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo:

“My husband was killed, and I was raped in the presence of my children; since then, my heart was against everyone. I rebelled against God, and I tried several times to kill people with poison. But since Pastor Herman came with the Gospel to my village, I have changed. I have forgiven the whole world and have given my life to Jesus. Not only that, but the church and the school are next to my house. I can now read, and my children receive an education for free. God’s grace is upon me!”

OneHope

In 2012 OneHope, the international child evangelism ministry, will provide Bible story books to the local churches in Burundi and the DRC. To be printed in Kirundi and Swahili, OneHope will create and publish enough of these books to distribute to all the families in the VCP network in these two countries. This printed material will follow the chronological Bible teaching used in the village churches and will be a tutoring tool to help learners read the Bible.

How is this project supported?

Individuals generously contributed funds to begin the pilot project. To complete this two year pilot project we need to raise funds to:

transport and house African trainers when they gather to become literacy trainers
provide Literacy and Evangelism phonics materials in the local languages to trainers and tutors
provide a stipend and travel expenses to the African literacy coordinator
prepare some trainers to train others so there will be no need for outside literacy volunteers to travel to Burundi or the DRC
provide blackboards, pens and paper for the neediest churches

Walking for Literacy

Our first Walk for Literacy, held in two locations during the summer of 2011, was a success. Our sponsors and walkers generously donated $3470. That money was used to bring 23 VCP trainers to Kigali, Rwanda. They traveled from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burundi as well as from rural Rwanda. Two trainers from Kenya paid their own way to travel by bus to join the group.

Africa Literacy Project Trainer Wendy McDermott from New Jersey; new tutor Lucy Mwaura from Kenya, Trainer Connie Schwein and OMS missionary Rahab Kinyua from Kenya. Rahab and Lucy spent two days on a bus to get to literacy training in Rwanda.

The second annual Walk for Literacy is scheduled to be held in two cities in May.

The South Jersey walk will be a 5 k walk/run at Cooper River Park in Camden County on May 5, 2012. To register go to www.Ministerysync.com/event/?e=4483 or call Connie Schwein at 856-795-9627.

The Greenwood, Indiana walk is a 3-5 k walk/fun run scheduled for May 19, 2012, in Independence Park. Walkers and sponsors can register online at www.Ministrysync.com/event/?e=4533 When you get to this page you will have a chance to sign on as a sponsor or as a walker/runner. If you have questions or want to register offline, you can leave a message for Pat Dragon at 317-888-3333 Extension 370. OMS’s Dynamic Women in Missions is organizing the Greenwood walk under the direction of Pat and Sam Laird.

Registration for each walk is $10. A walker/runner who raises $50 in support receives a T-shirt.

Our goal is to raise $20,000 to continue funding the pilot in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We want to expand to the Central African Republic, Uganda and Rwanda.

Two trainers show off their Bridge to Reading shirts.

How is this project supported?
How can I organize a walk where I live?

We’re organizing this walk so local groups can create their own routes and ask their friends to walk or support them. In addition to the walks in Pennsauken, NJ, and Greenwood, IN, you can walk with us no matter where you are. Download the sample flyer from here and personalize it with your location. Post your walk on Facebook and email the flyer to your friends. Contact Connie Schwein (cdschwein@aol.com) who will set up an online registration site for your walk.

How do I know my contribution will go to the Africa Literacy Project?

You can contribute through our online site at www.ministrysync by clicking this link or send contributions directly to One Mission Society, 941 Fry Road, P.O. Box A, Greenwood, IN 46142-6599. Include project number 407800 on any correspondence. All contributions will go directly to the support of the project. One Mission Society is an interdenominational, non-sectarian, 501(c)(3) non-profit (charitable) mission organization and a charter member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. Because of OMS’ tax-exempt status, donations may be tax-deducible.

What are the future plans?

We’re looking for Christians from across the world who’d like to go to Africa on short term mission trips to train literacy trainers. Would you like to volunteer to travel to Africa to help pastoral trainers? To prepare for this adventure a person needs to complete tutor training through a local literacy program and then tutor an adult or group of adults for at least 40 hours. The next step is to go through the training of trainers process in your local area. All trainers will raise their own support to travel to the African site of training and stay in safe, simple housing while there. For more information contact Connie Schwein at cdschwein@aol.com.

We are very excited about what God is doing. Our heart’s desire is to let more people find out that they can join Him! Please spread the word that God is using everyday people in Africa to help others learn to read and write.

Africa Literacy Project trainers at the Gikondo Free Methodist Church conference center in Kigali, Rwanda, September 2011.

Africa Literacy Project

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