“To be or not to be is what I will prove to myself and society.” This is what Ms. Amina Al Ali, 45 year, said after she successfully completed the first course of the literacy program and enrolled in the second level to fulfill her dream to continue her studies and help her children after the martyrdom of her husband.
She added that she has not been able to learn because of her harsh social conditions, but today she is more determined to go this way and continue her life naturally and find suitable work.
On the other hand, the twenty-year-old Sawsan Riyad, despite her health conditions, as a result of a traffic accident, managed to return to school and obtain a literacy certificate, indicating that she aspires to achieve her dream to study Law.
Many cases of women aged between 15 and 60 who managed to eliminate illiteracy were recently celebrated by the Women Foundation on the occasion of the Arab Literacy Day, where they were honored with a group of volunteer teachers.
“Eliminating ignorance and alleviating the social problems it causes is the main goal of the institution.” Declared the director of the Foundation Lina Al-Rifai, pointing to the importance of spreading awareness among members of society and the need for cooperation between associations and institutions to fight illiteracy and reach Syria without illiteracy.
The program director, Kholoud Sheikh Al-Haddadin, explained that the number of women who benefited from the program last year reached 52 , indicating that this year the Foundation seeks to benefit 250 women through a special curriculum at several levels. The first level deals with numbers and letters of the Arabic language and words and lasts for of 3 months. The second level is for teaching the Arabic language, geography and English and it will last for six months.
Head of Damascus Department for Elderly Education, Maryam Al-Hussein, pointed out the importance of enrolling in the literacy program courses due to its positive impact on society, stating that the department is working to enroll all those interested in literacy courses, encourage them, and motivate them to continue their education.
Amal Farhat