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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.  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.  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.

Newly trained tutors in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with their trainer, Herman Mutuzi.

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 three months of the project there has been dramatic growth.  The 13 African tutor trainers recruited and trained 61 tutors who are teaching reading, writing, and basic math to 714 individuals. More than 530, or nearly 75% of these first students, are women and girls.  Two new Village Church Planting Training Centers have been created in the DRC as a result of the literacy project.

A literacy class under the trees.  Babies and toddlers come to class with their moms!

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

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

Walk for Literacy in June

Our first annual Walk for Literacy is scheduled for June 12 in South Jersey.  Walkers and supporters can register online at www.ministrysync.com/event/?e=3323. We’re organizing this walk so local groups can create their own routes and ask their friends to walk or support them.  Fundraising can be tracked online through a website managed by MinistrySync.  Registration is free.  With $50 in contributions the walker will earn a T-shirt.  When a total of $100 is donated a second shirt will be given to a tutor in Africa.  Our goal is to raise $10,000 to complete the pilot in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and an additional $10,000 to provide seed money for the next phase of training.  In 2012 we hope prepare literacy trainers in the Central African Republic.

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 Audubon, 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.  They can support you and walk with you by signing up online at www.ministrysync.com/event/?e=3323.

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, 341 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.