Literacy Day 2024 Inspires Parents

Every year World Literacy Day is celebrated in Nepal with rallies, speeches, recognizing excellences in schools, cultural programs and other literacy related activities. We have been working on the importance of literacy for women and girls in the underserved areas; thus, celebrating this day is very important to us.

This year, we organized a literacy day event for the parents of our girls (sisters) and it was very eye-opening to see how much the parents (especially mothers) valued having the ability to read and write. The main purpose of the program was to:

• To help parents recognize the importance of literacy in everyday tasks.
• To inspire them to pursue education, learn basic numeracy, and improve their calculation skills.
• To build a good connection between parents and children.

The program was attended by 50 parents and some children. The program was designed to help the parents understand the importance of literacy and show them how it impacts their daily lives.

The event was facilitated by Brinda Bhattacharya and her team from the Social Work Club of Thames College (SWCT). (Ms. Brinda is a highly qualified person with an excellent record in education and a great deal of practical experience in social work related to women’s and children’s issues. She earned her master’s degree in social work from Tata Institute of Technology, India. She believes in educating and sharing experiences with future social workers. She is a part time faculty (Social Work) at Thames International College in Kathmandu)

Number Game:

The first activity was a number game. SWCT member Ujwol Kumar distributed a card to the parents with one number between 1 to 5. Parents were asked to group themselves according to their number. Groups with number 3, 1 and 5 were able to form the group quickly. This simple game was a way of teaching literacy to the people who did not have a chance to learn. 

What is Literacy?

When asked to define literacy, parents responded that it signifies education and economic independence. Brinda then presented some newspaper clippings, including one titled “Back to School” about women in Kavrepalanchok seen reading in elder literacy classes. She also shared the story of a ward chairman who passed his SEE exam after 21 years, emphasizing that literacy is the foundation of education and extends beyond the classroom—it’s about understanding and connecting with others.

Video Presentation:

 A video was presented where some women from Roshi Rural Municipality managing a dairy farm learned to calculate the price of milk, manage interest, and make phone calls after receiving literacy education. 

Parents reflected that economic literacy makes life easier and is essential for daily activities.

Many other videos were presented with different situations about the lives of children. After seeing the video, parents discussed the situation and shared their views, or what they would do in that situation.

Here is an example of one of the situations shown to the parents:

In Kalikot, a family sends their son to a boarding school, while their daughters are not allowed to attend school. The second daughter secretly attends government school, but she is severely punished by her father when he finds out about his daughter secretly attending school.

Here is what one mother says:
Tara (Parent): “If I were that daughter, I would leave home and work at a hotel, and use my earnings to fund my education. My parents didn’t educate me because I was a girl, but I would fight for my right to education.”

Literacy Exercise:

The highlight of the program was a hands-on literacy exercise. Brinda and her team introduced the Nepali Devanagari and English alphabets, encouraging parents to write their names. The parents participated with enthusiasm and pride.  Many of them were holding a pen for the first time.  One participant, Shreemaya Tamang exclaimed with joy “I did it” when she learned how to write her name.

The program was very effective in conveying the message that education is very important for everyone. People can learn at any age. There are places where they can get literacy education. 

Literacy gives us understanding about the situation and helps us connect with others. It is very useful to our everyday lives. We cannot get a basic government job without passing the SEE examination.

Feedback from Parents:

Amina Panta, parent shared an emotional reflection: She shared that she is struggling to pay the rent and provide food and necessities to her two little girls and her sick husband. 

“Sometimes I feel desperate, get very stressed and hopeless. In my desperate time, Rukmini Foundation didis came to my house and offered to support my daughter’s education. I felt some relief from that news. Coming to the program today, learning about the importance of education and learning about other people’s situation, I became hopeful about my daughter’s future. I also learned that I need to spend more time with my children. “

Foundation Chairman, Shashi Sharma announced that anyone interested to complete their education can join the Community Learning Center at Shikharapur School. After getting a SEE certificate, many opportunities will be open to them.

At the end of the program, parents left feeling motivated and inspired realizing that literacy is not just about reading and writing – it is the key to economic empowerment and a path to a better future for their children and themselves.

This year’s Literacy Day was not just a celebration but a movement to empower parents, showing them that it is never too late to learn and grow.