Kha Ri Gude

Languages, Part 2a

Kha Ri Gude

From the Kha Ri Gude web site:

What is the Kha Ri Gude Mass Literacy Campaign?

The Kha Ri Gude Mass Literacy Campaign was launched in February 2008, with the intention of enabling 4,7 million adults above the age of 15 years to become literate and numerate in one of the eleven official languages. Achieving this goal will enable South Africa to reach its UN: Education For All commitment made at Dakar in 2000 - that of halving the country’s illiteracy rates by 2015. Initiated and managed by the Department of Education, Kha Ri Gude delivers across all nine provinces in a massive logistical outreach. The Campaign enables adult learners to read, write and calculate in their mother tongue in line with the Unit Standards for ABET level 1, and also to learn spoken English. The specifically designed Campaign materials teach reading, writing and numeracy and integrates themes and lifeskills such as health, gender, the environment and civic education. These materials have been adapted for use in Braille in eleven languages, and for use by the deaf.

What is the role of the volunteers?

The volunteers are central to the Campaign and contribute not only to the teaching and learning process but also to ensuring advocacy, recruitment, monitoring, and ensuring that the Campaign is a vibrant part of communities. Methods of communication differ from the usual methods and include: Word of mouth through meetings with women’s groups, the youth, taxi organisations, trades unions, traditional leadership, traditional healers, door-to-door visits. Announcements in church, at funerals, at Imbizos, taxi ranks, society meetings. Interviews and announcements on local and community radio, community newspapers. The display of posters, distribution of pamphlets, adverts on notice boards and even loud hailing.

During the 2008/09 and 2009/20 financial years, the Campaign enabled close on one million learners to become literate and has created approximately 75 000 short term facilitation jobs. By drawing on the participation of a range of stakeholders, the Campaign is evidence that “together we can make a difference”.

The following chart illustrates the growth of the Campaign by province over the 2008/09 and 2009/10 financial years.

CU Comment

This course is concerned with languages, and not primarily with literacy.

It is not possible to see for sure that this programme is going to strengthen the use of other languages when it is at the same time promoting the use of English.

Literacy is important for languages. Especially it is important that literature of all kinds is produced in any language that expects to survive, and that the literature is read.

We report this programme in its own terms. We await further reports, appraisals and criticism.

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