A Brief Report on the Non-Formal Adult Literacy Centre

Moolaiaru is a small remote tribal hamlet in the lower Palani hills of Western Ghats in Tamilnadu, India. About twenty year ago, people who lived in the forests and plantations gathered and settled down here. Right now there are seventy families living in the small hamlet. Act India Foundation has initiated its services in the areas of health and income generation during the last few years. During the year 2003, Act India Foundation selected a few youth in the hamlet and organized an income generation self-employment training program. At the end of training program instruction for starting income generating micro enterprises was also given.

In order to initiate income generating micro enterprises it is important to posses certain basic educational skills. In this hamlet a large number of youths have studied only up to third and fourth classes in the local school. Very few individuals have studied up to eighth and ninth standards. Act India Foundation discussed these issues with the members of the youth club in the hamlet and decided to provide special class to enable them to attain the minimum required educational skills. The special class will in addition to providing them with training in acquiring basic skills in the three R’s of Reading, Writing and Arithmetic will also give them basic training in the usage and understanding of English as a language. This will, in the course of time, enable them to use it in learning basic computer skills and enhance their potential to use English for their better welfare in using the web through the Internet.

In the modern days usage of English is quite wide and required extensively. Therefore in order to provide English speaking and reading skills, Act India Foundation has appointed an English teacher. From January 2007 regular classes are conducted at the Moolaiaru hamlet. There are twenty-two “out of school youths“ attending these classes. Classes are held in the evenings from 7pm to 9pm. Simultaneously classes are arranged for fifteen children from 6pm to 7 pm.

We aim that the trainees will be equipped with skills to write and read small words. This learning with further functional and appropriate inputs, we hope, will give them the opportunity to expose them to the usage of computer. Further we expect these exposures will in course of time bring them nearer to interact with computers, particularly in the area of online search to access relevant information and disseminate them to others. Every effort is taken to bring out this ultimate purpose as the desired outcome of the project. In addition these exercises would also give them an opportunity for the trainees to sit for the 8th and 10th standard examinations. These regular certificates will definitely enhance their potential to set up sustainable income generation programmes in the long run.