The South African Mass Literacy Campaign known as Kha Ri Gude has changed the lives of millions of illiterate and mainly adult people across the country.
The impact of Kha Ri Gude campaign has improved the lives of many people who are now able to read, write and count. Prior 1994 a small number of illiterate people had access to adult education. At the moment millions of South African adults, including the disabled, receive free basic education through the campaign.
“This means those who could not read, write or count can now manage to fill in forms, and manage other aspects of their lives which were not possible before,” said Dr Morongwa Ramarumo.
The National Census of October 2011 puts the country’s illiteracy rate at 8.62% compared to the 17.9% illiteracy rate in 2001. Dr Ramarumo says this is consistent with the commitment made at Dakar in 2000 of reducing illiteracy by 50% by 2015. Recently the Kha Ri Gude unit visited the logistics company, Bongani Rainmakers, to monitor the delivery of materials to learning sites.
Dr Ramarumo praised Bongani Rainmakers for the service they rendered in making the project work. “Without your commitment and dedication the Kha Ri Gude volunteers could not have been able to reach the rural areas within such a short period,” she said.
“In 2009 through Bongani Rainmakers, the Kha Ri Gude project delivered materials to 644 826 learners and 36 067 educators. In 2010 more than 631 705 learners and 35 258 educators received material and in 2011 693 426 learners and 37 036 educators, in 2012 they reached 665 966 learners and 32 222 educators,” she added. Dr Ramarumo also highlighted that by 2013, the campaign had reached 2,9 million learners over the 4 year period nationally.
“Not only has the Campaign changed the lives of illiterate people nationally, but also created short-term employment opportunities for 40 000 volunteers in the poorest communities that are paid a stipend,” she said.
The Chairperson of the Board at Bongani Rainmaker Logistics, Professor Bongani Khumalo, explained that, the company receives various material at the warehouse, which is then made up into Learner Support Materials. The company packs 2 500 000 books annually and delivers these to volunteer educators across approximately 40 000 different learning sites nationally.
“In addition to the four text books, learner packs, which include stationery such as pencils, sharpeners, rulers, erasers, exercise books, glue sticks, scissors and a calculator, are packed and distributed to the 40 000 sites. In total we picked 53,735,338 items for a 5 year period from 2009 to 2013. Approximately 700 additional jobs are created to ensure speedy distribution,” the chairman said.
The Kha Ri Gude campaign is a sterling example of how government is delivering high quality basic education, punctually and effectively.
