Official Education

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Not too many people in Mozambique are reading this newsletter. And that is partly because a very high percentage can't read at all.

Not too many people in Mozambique are reading this newsletter. And that is partly because a very high percentage can't read at all. During years of civil war, two generations grew to adulthood without a functioning school system. Now they are adults with families of their own, and most don't have an elementary school education.

The now peaceful government is trying to do something about the appalling literacy rate, estimated at only 47 percent, and even worse in the far-flung bush villages. As Maranatha works away, national leaders are taking notice of the sturdy new buildings popping up around the country, and plan to begin literacy training in those very churches. They've agreed to let the Adventist Church run and staff a literacy program at 20 different church buildings around the country.

Church leaders plan to hire an initial staff of 700 to run the programs. Mozambique's Ministry of Education will train staff and stock the centers with literacy curriculum. "We are praying that God will find resources not only for 20, but for 200 facilities by 2010," said Miguel Simoque, Education Director for the Adventist Church in Mozambique. Up until now, Simoque has had almost no students to work with, just a handful of seminarians. He is ecstatic about the new Maranatha school at Liberdade which will open in February, and now, the opportunity to impact adults and their communities across the country.

Date published: October 1, 2007