Ageing Nepal piloted the basic literacy grade in an urban center of Kathmandu Metropolitan. Ageing Nepal partnered with a local social-organisation to targets SDG4 (Quality pedagogy) for elderly with the aim of leaving no one behind.

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Description

Intro

Basic literacy class for illiterate older persons is a programme in gild to empower them through education (SDG4). Information technology is conducted by Ageing Nepal with support from donors and local system for vi month. After that menses, it is handed over to ward function or rural municipality for further continuation. Information technology is for the commencement time where threescore+ learners realized their ability to read and write irrespective of their historic period. Fourth dimension limitation, frequent revision, knowledge problem, difficulty in bringing them in same level and inadequate budget were some of the problem faced during the implementation of the plan.

Objective of the practice

General objectives of the basic literacy class for 60+ populations are: <br />
a) To deport a bones literacy course for 20-25 illiterate older persons for six months as a pilot plan in an urban eye of Kathmandu Metropolis. <br />
b) To empower elders with basic skills on reading, writing, counting and elementary mathematics <br />
c) To provide basic skills of using electronic gadgets such as Goggle box remote-controller, mobile phones, and household appliances.<br />
60+ learners have tasted the pleasure of learning and doing new things as their right. This profoundly lifted their self-respect and the confidence to raise their voice in family and the customs. Thanks to SDG4 â€â€Å" “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality instruction and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” that opened up room for pilot projection like this. This class gave college degree of independence to the learners through added ability to do things they could not practise before. The social/political leaders of the community were involved at all stages of project implementation. Responding to the demand of new learners for continuation of the “class” across the projection period, the customs leaders came forward with the idea of amalgam a small edifice on a nearby public land especially for the apply of elders where they can continue the process of learning. Past the terminate of the course, each learner is able to practice following things:<br />
<br />
a) Read and write numerals from 1 to 10 in English and Nepali<br />
b) Read alphabets of Nepali and English languages <br />
c) Pronounce English names of five common fruits <br />
d) Greet in English <br />
east) Place the name of few trunk parts in English <br />
f) Answer some simple questions in English linguistic communication. Such as what is your proper noun and where practise yous alive. <br />
k) Write their name in Nepali linguistic communication <br />
h) Read uncomplicated letters on street names, billboards, affiche and other market displays<br />
<br />
Other practical accomplishments include:<br />
a) Safely cross city road <br />
b) Make and receive telephone calls <br />
c) Read the clock <br />
d) Use electronic dwelling house appliances similar: induction gas, rice cooker, and mixture by reading given signs such equally turn-on, off, power, etc. <br />
e) Turn on and off computer; identify basic parts of a computer and blazon English. f) Some of the learners take started to use Facebook <br />
thousand) Confidently speak to a grouping <br />
h) Go effectually places in cities without fear of getting lost<br />
<br />
As I mentioned earlier at that place were challenges that we faced during implementation of the program therefore, to overcome the issue we adopted post-obit strategy:<br />
<br />
1) Involve learners to know their needs and most suitable time of the day for learning class<br />
two) Involving learner in extra recreational activities in the start week to open up and motivate them.<br />
3) Active participation in recreational activities showed their hidden talent and demand of platform to perform and express them.<br />
iv) Short tour after class helped the adult learners learning capacity.

Partners

The Virginia Hazzard Legacy Fund Subcommittee of NGO Committee on Ageing, NY, in 2016 came up with support fund for piloting Basic Literacy Class for sixty+ populations. Hence, Ageing Nepal partnered with a local social-organization to conduct Bones literacy class for vi month and hand it over to ward office or rural municipality. Looking at the bear upon and progress, Ageing Nepal Switzerland and the Virginia Hazzard Legacy Fund Subcommittee of NGO Committee on Ageing continue to support the form. A weekly and monthly exam was taken to monitor progress and was send to the donors.

Results/Outputs/Impacts

The most of our learners grew up in a society that held the social norm that the human action of reading, writing, doing math, and participating in the main stream of broader social life are the domain of males and new generation kids. Only with this Bones Literacy class it has profoundly lifted upwardly their self-respect and the confidence to enhance their vocalization in family unit and the customs. Motivated by this new gained sense of empowerment, it is safe to assume that they will keep to be an active learner throughout their life. Higher degree of independence has been added through class that helps to practise things they could not practice before. Their sense of belonging to a group has expanded beyond the family and a set of relatives they had before. It was observed that the learning achievements of learners vary with age, higher the age above 65 years, slower is the footstep and lower the achievement. Our Class teacher Ms. Sita Adhikari, who used to be a primary school instructor, observes, “They learned faster than average child in primary school”. One of the case studies from Bones literacy Class is given below:
Dhanamaya Khatiwoda, 71, got married to a widower at the age of 15, mothered iv children and became widow at the historic period 49. She lost her son in lack of proper medical treatment in the hamlet. Subsequently, when her granddaughter roughshod sick, the family rushed her to Kathmandu for treatment and she recovered. Since that incidence of 2008, Dhanamaya started living in Kathmandu with grandchildren while balance of the family unit continues living in Harakpur village of Okhaldhunga district where Dhanamaya grew up. Sending girl child to school was not a common practice in Harakpur. So she decided to stay with grandchildren and enrolled them in school in Kathmandu. But it wasn’t like shooting fish in a barrel for her to alive a urban center life. “We accept a phone at dwelling merely I generally had to look for some grandchild to come from school and dial the phone for me. I couldn’t go for shopping alone considering I neither could read signboards or labels on the goods nor understand the math they do. I was so dependent on my grandchildren, sometimes I wondered if I were supporting them or just being burden to them. Merely the time has changed amazingly afterwards I enrolled in the literacy course. Now I can use phone, practice simple addition and subtraction and tin read the package label. I am no more than afraid of going out alone and get lost because I can read road number of the coach, sign boards and street numbers. Non just this, I gained many friends to talk to and share my feelings. Confidence building sessions have enabled me to put my opinion strongly to a group of strangers. Now, I can proudly say that I am supporting my grandchildren. All I need to learn more is how to use reckoner like my grandchildren do”.

Enabling factors and constraints

Experiential arroyo to learning was adopted where methods such equally lecture, demonstration, home-work, practice, role play, sharing and relating to learners experiences were emphasized that enabled to create suitable surroundings. Home piece of work was highly emphasized to make upwards for the lost education hours. Weekly and monthly tests were taken to monitor progress and adjust the curricula accordingly. Ageing Nepal team prepared detailed course outline, pedagogy materials and work schedule with the involvement of selected teachers. Special reading and teaching materials were developed taking reference from (a) formal education to children in primary schools and (b) ongoing adult literacy programmes in Nepal.
Learners were occasionally taken out to nearby market and asked to read or identify messages on billboards, posters, street signs, and other market displays. This method was constitute constructive for motivation and self-assessment. This practice also provided the opportunity to help them with simple rules of going around cities, crossing streets, and how they could become to places independently without fear of getting lost in cities and come dorsum home reading market displays and signboards.
Learners were encouraged in the grade to share their personal cognition, skills and experience that they treasured. Opportunities provided for sharing of poems one created and/or memorized, stories of special events in one’south life, performing dance, singing songs or telling jokes made the didactics learning process non only interesting but also put the learners at ease, elevated their self-conviction and strengthened the bond of friendship among learners.
Later the kickoff few form-room lecture sessions on alphabets, one learner said to the teacher, “first teach united states to write our names and then nosotros will learn these alphabets later”. On this, the simply person smiling in the class was the teacher while the rest looked eagerly at the teacher expecting positive response. Obviously, they were more eager to learn lessons that could be put to firsthand use, either to solve the problem they were facing or to do the things they always wanted to practice With this understanding, the before planned course objectives, contents and schedules were regularly adjusted to keep pace with course learning and to lucifer the interest and demand of learners. For instance, they were more than interested to be able to speak English than learning the English language alphabets. They were given lessons on unproblematic phrases and sentences of spoken English language, which was not in the grade designed earlier. Similarly, they expected to the form to enable them to move around cities independently without the fear of getting lost in city. That likewise was included in the course.
Time limitation, learners interest, pace of learning, daily fluctuation in the number of learners, frequently needed revision class were some of the constraint that were faced during the course. However, to overcome the limitation following changes were made: Time period was adjusted as required, short bout afterward class was done for better learning, learning objectives and schedule made more flexible especially for weeks with festival holiday.

Sustainability and replicability

ane) Ageing Nepal is planning to continue the literacy course with the support (financial and technical) from donors and local organizations. This will enable learners to read and write in Devanagari
2) Mobilization of our new literates as an banana teacher: We are looking for support to implement the idea of:
(a) Select the best 2 to 4 learners from our grade
(b) Assign each of them certain surface area within walking distance from their residence, (c) Ask each to identify illiterate 60+ in the assigned area
(d) Beginning “basic literacy class” for two-4 groups from different locations in and effectually Kathmandu valley and
(e) Ask each of our selected “new literates” to work every bit Assistant Teacher in their respective group.
three) Institution of senior citizens club in the area: On proposition of the students Ageing Nepal, along with local leaders and other organizations are thinking virtually constructing a two-room building on a nearby public land. The building will be developed equally a library where older persons from the surface area could gather every day and give continuity to their learning process and perform other grouping activities specifically, income generating activities, skills handover to new generation activities, social services and any other activities the elders of the surface area may similar to do. This idea of community leaders tin can exist implemented sooner and in proper mode if financial and technical supports are made available.
4) Replication of project in other districts: Ageing Nepal aims to replicate the program in vi to x more urban areas of Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur cities of Kathmandu Valley. This is where the visibility is high for the opinion makers and policy makers to discover and internalize the value of it. This would give us more evidence needed for compelling the government and other organizations to include “literacy for older persons” in their broader policies and programmes for SDG4 implementation, without leaving elders behind.

Conclusions

The information about ongoing class spread over communities around and more than number of illiterate elderly started coming for enrolment. All such new comers were ladies. The number of such new comers increased every twenty-four hour period and had to be stopped when the enrolment reached to 33 ladies, mainly because of infinite limitation. It is for the outset time in their life that 60+ learners realized their ability to learn to read and write as anyone else, irrespective of the gender and age. They have tasted the pleasure of learning and doing new things equally their correct. That has profoundly lifted up their self-respect and the confidence to enhance their vox in family and the customs. <br />
Ms. Kanchi Gautam, 66 years old, one of the learners said “I however remember how a bank refused to grant me the loan because I could not sign my name in Bank papers. Now, I tin can write my proper noun and sign. The class has made my life much easier<br />
<br />
Lesson learned<br />
<br />
• Changes required in daily schedule of form made the states aware that while preparing the schedule we should as well involve learners to know their needs and near suitable time of the twenty-four hour period for learning grade. <br />
• Involving learner in extra recreational activities in the first week was plant very essential to open up up, experience belongingness to the grouping and motivate them. <br />
• Active participation of adult learners in recreational activities showed their hidden talent and need of platform to perform and express them. <br />
• It is learned that a gender mix should be about 50:50. One gender in minority feels uncomfortable to continue with the grouping. <br />
• Older women were constitute to be more eager to learn than their male counterparts of the same age group.<br />
• The recommended courses past developed learners clearly showed their adjustment problems to the city life.<br />
•Curricula for Bones Literacy Grade for the elderly should too include skill pedagogy to solve the trouble they face in their daily life such as learning the right way to cross the street. Most of the elderly in our course had recently migrated from their hamlet to metropolis for living with their working sons and daughters. <br />
•Short tour after grade refreshes and energizes the adult learners.<br />
• Learning objectives and schedule should be more flexible particularly for weeks with festival holiday.<br />
•Curiosity and excitement in computer form clearly showed their loftier interest to be techno friendly for contained metropolis life <br />
•Make able to pronounce English words are identified every bit ane of the major challenge for the teacher of adult learners. <br />
•It is realized that the period of half-dozen months for Basic Literacy Grade is grossly inadequate as it does not provide scope for much revisions as required for older learners. It is estimated that such project should be run for at least 9 months to meet the stated objectives.

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Action Network

SDG Good Practices First Call

This initiative does not still fulfil the SMART criteria.

Timeline

24 September 2018 (first date)

25 November 2018 (engagement of completion)

Entity
SDGs
Geographical coverage

It is carried out in an urban center of Kathmandu Metropolitan city i.e Kapan ( ward 10 and 11 ), Baudha Municipality (ward 6) and Gorkarna Municipality (ward 5) .

Photos
Website/More than data

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