Josephina Deng has her focus on acquiring education and skills that can help her to become self-dependent and a confident change-maker within her community.
Josephina (29) has enrolled at Level Three in Accelerated Learning Program (ALP) supported by NRC at Sunrise Evening School in Turalei.
"I come from a farming background, having spent many years in Nyiel Abiel practicing agriculture. Culturally a married woman is expected to do farming and produce food for her family. I am a mother of four children, three daughters and one son," she explains.
Radio news
One day she was visiting a neighbor in Turalei town and happened to hear an announcement broadcasted through the local radio Mayardit FM. The announcement was about the registration of community members who are interested in adult learning programs.
"I listened carefully to the radio news and thought: I will go for this program. The following day, I went to the area of registration, the place was having many people who showed interest in the program and we were told to register and join Basic Adult Literacy (BAL) classes, " she says.
Started from Grade One
The admission criteria were simple, either one has to be an IDP, returnee or a member of the host community. I decided to register my name and later on I started attending classes from Grade One.
"After attending several sessions, little by little, I started to understand the logic of reading, writing and counting numbers from one up to one thousand. I practiced reading some advertisement on the walls around Turalei town and my confidence in reading started to grow. I started to realize the importance of education", she recalls, "When I completed the basic level, my teacher could see my level of enthusiasm and she encouraged me to continue. As I speak to you, I have completed my first term exam, and very happy and delighted."
A better and organized life
"I know how to operate my phone independently, I can read the medicine prescription for the family, I can read and help my children with their school assignment. I also know how to read the time from my phone and this helps me to prepare breakfast at the right time and help them get to school in time. When my phone rings I can read the names and know who is calling. Before, I used to ask the people calling to identify themselves and they would often get offended especially those who did not know that I was illiterate"
Josephina is sad for her friends who dropped out of school because of different reasons. She can understand what they are missing. She is trying to encourage more women to join the adult learning program.
Never too late
"At least now I have tested the fruits of education, I want to learn more and more. Now I am in Level Three. I will be sitting for examination next month. On the next step will be to sit for Primary School Certificate together with my children. I believe that it is never too late for education", she says.
NRC continues to support women like Josephina in South Sudan, through the adult literacy program, giving adults the opportunity to learn reading and writing skills. This gives the learners hope and social esteem through self-improvement and awareness process that taps into their inherent potential and capabilities. The education program also contributes to a sense of normalcy in the daily lives of displaced people, reducing anxiety and fatigue.
