Literacy and Life Skills Workshop

This last weekend I got to be a part of a wonderful workshop. The Ed volunteers from last year started a pilot program in the nearby district of Butha-Buthe. Using PEPFAR (President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) funds they were able to order AIDS/HIV themed books for 12 schools. The books are set in African villages, and the characters are African children. A few of the books were even translated into Sesotho. Needless to say, these are valuable resources for the teachers here. The workshop started Thursday evening and went through the weekend, ending Sunday morning. Three teachers from each school were invited, and they ALL came!!!
The workshop focused on teaching the teachers (and some principals) how to use the books in their classrooms. PCV's in Lesotho have managed to set up hundreds up libraries throughout the country, but we are finding that often times the books don't get used. Being that books are precious items here, they tend to get locked away, so as not to be damaged. However, they are also not accessable to the students. The workshop focused on incorporating the literature into their curriculums, teaching reading comprehension, and basic reading skills.
The whole experience was positive and encouraging. The teachers were very excited about their books, and the teaching tools we gave them. As a volunteer I think the weekend was a success, and now we are going to try to implement this into the other districts of Lesotho. I was also able to speak with a local publisher, so a few other volunteers and I will be spending our cold winter months writing books for ECCD (Early Child Care and Development) with the hopes of getting them translated and published for next year!