Never too old to learn in Zambia

Clara Moyo, 50, has 11 children and three grandchildren. She went back to school a few years ago, and is now in grade 10 at the same secondary school as her first-born son who is in grade 12 in Lusaka, Zambia. “I had big problems—I couldn’t speak English [Zambia’s official language]. Education is power, education is very important. Without education you can’t be recognized in the community, without education it is as if you are dead,” Moyo told IRIN.

Zambia’s illiterate adults will continue to be excluded from the benefits of a growing economy unless government steps in, civil society groups have warned. “In all places where people were illiterate, poverty was rife. Illiteracy certainly excludes people from the process of production, and denies them the opportunity to participate in social programs that are meant to improve their livelihoods,” said Margaret Machila, lead researcher of a study, The Extent of Adult Literacy in Zambia, funded by South Africa’s Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa and released this week. Read more in IRIN News online.