Women’s Literacy and Leadership Graduation
Katie McIntosh
November 20, 2011

Okay, I honestly intended the previous blog to be my last one, but I just attended the graduation ceremony for the 2011 literacy and leadership classes and I had to write about it. I have to say, when you are working in development you do not always see or realize the change you are making in people’s lives. I believe what I am doing is making a difference, but I certainly don’t see the rewards from working at my desk in the office every day. When I go out into the field, women often thank me, but then again, people thank me for when I go for a jog as well. The times I am reminded of the purpose of my work here are when I go out into the field and talk to our clients and beneficiaries about how the program has benefited them. That is nice. I can see the difference CAUSE is making in the lives of women in Koinadugu. In fact, when a UNICEF consultant recently visited Kabala to see some of CAUSE’s Mothers Clubs (groups of women who work to promote and advance education within their community), she specifically mentioned how she perceived the women in Koinadugu to be very strong, in comparison with other parts of the country, especially in business. I would like to think that the WIEP program (including SWET) has something to do with that.

Anyways, I have gotten off topic. What I wanted to talk about was how great it felt to be at a WIEP graduation. Groups of women from four communities attended, along with their town chiefs, husbands, children and other community supporters. The women showed great enthusiasm towards the celebration and boasted about all they had learned in the past nine months. Many women claimed that before the classes they did not know anything, but now they know how to spell and write their names, recite the alphabet and sound out letters, and read basic words, sentences and numbers. They also demonstrated their increased knowledge in integral themes, such as health, by performing a skit on exclusive breastfeeding. It was so exciting to see the participants enthusiasm about what they had learned and I could tell that the program had not only increased their knowledge, but also their self-esteem.

Throughout the entire celebration, the women continuously expressed their gratitude towards CAUSE Canada and its programs in their communities. Two of the communities even performed songs thanking CAUSE Canada for its work. There was also lots of food, music, dancing and drumming to celebrate the occasion. At one time, one of the participants from Nyaforandor was explaining how she has benefited from the program and in the end she simply said, “Education is sweet.” For me that pretty much sums it up. Education is sweet. And I’m happy to see that it is so valued as well.