By Moira Finucane
"Hope exists after participating in this group. I never even knew how to converse, but with other women you learn. When I first came here, I knew I would learn. I was very happy. My sons used to call me 'donkey'. And so my joy now is that I will learn. It will be a miracle. When your children look at you as a donkey, it's very sad. They treated me in a very humiliating way."
Those are the words of Rosa, a shanty town woman from the Casa Sofia Women's Centre in Santiago, Chile, where women learn, amongst other things, to read and write. Casa Sofia is one of the many programs funded by the International Women's Development Agency (IWDA).
For people in developing countries, the education situation is bad. For women in these countries, the situation goes from bad to worse.
In most developing countries, illiteracy is more prevalent among women than men. In fact, women outnumber men among illiterates by a ratio of three to two.
In countries such as Mozambique, where only 45% of men are literate, literacy among women is an appalling 21%.
Education of women is hindered by social, economic and cultural factors. For example,in many countries, girls are much more likely to be kept home to help with domestic chores than to be sent to school.
The quality of education offered to girls can also prevent them from participating in employment equally.
Relevant, accessible education is a fundamental part of any successful development work.
Unfortunately, the 1980s were a disastrous decade for education. Of more than 100 countries surveyed by UNICEF, expenditure per pupil declined in two-thirds and the proportion of children enrolled in primary school fell in half.
In most cases the cause was the debt crisis, forcing a cut in public spending. In many countries more money has been spent on higher education than basic education, and the quality of basic education is poor (The State of the World's Children 1992, UNICEF).
The IWDA, a non-government aid and development agency, works in partnership with thousands of women around the world for survival, education and human rights.
All the projects IWDA supports are designed and managed by the women from the communities themselves. Many of the programs make basic education a priority.
Casa Sofia
One of the most inspiring examples is the Casa Sofia Women's Centre for women who live in the shanty town areas of Santiago. The centre has been funded by IWDA since 1985.
Sixteen years of military dictatorship, along with unemployment, hunger, illness, persecutions, deaths, threats and extremely high levels of domestic violence, have all shaped these women's lives, education and self esteem.
The centre provides a range of workshops, adult education, and discussion groups, which support the women in regaining their self confidence, mutual support of each other and control in their lives.
In response to requests from women attending the centre, its coordinators, Peg Moran and Monica Hingston, set about trying to develop a literacy program.
Illiteracy is as high as 30-35% in Chile, with women the most disadvantaged.
Using Paulo Friere's methods as a base, the coordinators developed a program and a manual called Mañana Será Distincto ("Tomorrow Will Be Different"). The manual uses generative words and pictures from women's lives as a basis for reading and writing.
The manual was the first of its kind in Chile, and has achieved global recognition. It is in use in 27 countries and was include in the United Nations International Year of Literacy Kit.
Women between the ages of 22 and 63 have learned to read and write. Some of them have gone on to enrol in primary and secondary school, write poetry, become community journalists.
Recently, the coordination of Casa Sofia has been taken over by Chilean women. Some of the women who participated in the workshops are now teaching there.
"It's never too late to learn", says 45-
year-old Maria Elena, a Casa Sofia Centre participant. "Although I've had such a bitter life, now I know I will learn to read and write. And afterwards, I will be able to have a career and work, even though it be a short career as the years pass quickly. I want to work and earn my own money so that no-one can control me, that no-one will be watching me."
Afghan women
In 1989, the Afghan Women's Resource Centre was set up in the refugee camps of Pakistan, to provide
skills, an employment register, adult literacy classes and a library, and to improve the status of Muslim women within their own community. IWDA funds the resource centre in its work.
Ninety-five per cent of Afghan women are illiterate, have no money and have a family to care for.
Traditionally, Afghan women have little or no visibility outside the home, and the breakdown of social and community structures in the refugee camps of Pakistan means women are isolated and denied access to the most basic education.
Since classes began in 1989, more than 400 women have attended the six-month literacy courses, and there is a waiting list of 200. The centre has also opened three refugee camp schools for women.
From this basic start, many teenage students have gone on to primary school to continue their education.
The centre also produces a newsletter Basheer-ul-Momenat (The Afghan Women's Tribune), which is the only Afghan-published newsletter for women that is not party affiliated.
Now that the situation in Afghanistan is changing, many of the refugees will soon return, and they hope to take the centre with them.
Davao City
In the large slum areas of Davao City, in Mindanao in the Philippines, thousands of urban poor and dispossessed tribal people live in squalid conditions. Many are unemployed and unable adequately to feed, clothe and shelter their families. Fifty per cent of the population in the slums is under nine years old.
In 1986, the women from the Mindanao Development
Centre joined forces with parents and workers in Davao to set up seven basic care centres for urban poor children in the Davao City slums.
They worked collectively to devise health and education programs and curricula, train teachers and parents, build the centres and employ workers.
Parents donated their time and labour to build the centres. In 1987 IWDA began supporting the basic care centres, helping fund the training of teachers and parents in an alternative health and preschool education program. These programs focus on Filipino content and cooperative, non-sexist values.
While education of the children was the motivation for the Basic Care Centres, the process of providing it has involved parents, workers and the community in ongoing education and development. Parents, children and workers have shared workshops and seminars on nutrition, violence in the home and gender issues.
One of the workshops, puppetry and toy making, involved the parents, teachers and children in making alternative toys for peace, using indigenous materials found within the community. The children came away with resources that were cheap, locally available and weren't war toys!
IWDA has funded more than 150 projects since it began in 1985 and spends 91% of its annual budget directly on women's development projects. IWDA's money comes from federal funding, merchandising and, most importantly, the community. For more information, write to PO Box 1680 Collingwood Vic 3066, or phone (03) 419 3004.