Part I.pdf - MTB-MLE Network

areas/villages for study/research, promotecommunication and awareness drives,arrange discussions and explain theproject’s purpose to the community. Keyinformants in the community, particularlyelderly knowledgeable people, are keyresource people. The RT will also consultlocal leaders and elders about the project,and elicit feedback on methodology andactivities for literacy and educationaldevelopment. On the basis of this research,the RT suggests changes for the project. TheOraon people have been very enthusiastic,and have provided full support in development of the project.The most pressing educational need that has been identified is the adoption of an appropriate languageof instruction. Tribal children appear shy and unable to cope in school because the language ofinstruction in formal education is the national language. There is a need for curriculum and learningmaterials to be available in their mother tongue.IndiaIn the target group, there are now 1,000 learners currently studying, with requests for the programmeto expand to up to 5,000 learners. The project is administered under the National Literacy Mission– a government associated organization – and the focus is on adult learners and adult literacy.Information was gathered for programme design initially by sending extension workers out to talkto people. Questions such as, “How many Rabha speakers do you have in the community thatread/write their own language?” “Do you want to preserve your language?” etc. No incentiveswere given to participants or facilitators at any time throughout the programme, although food wasprovided for teachers’ training. Village level training, meetings and follow up meetings were held.The Rabha people, themselves, opted to adopt the Assamese script for use in their local literacyprogramme. A comprehensive survey was conducted which was a good opportunity to doawareness-raising about the possibilities of literacy. Potential writers were identified from amongthose people able to write in Assamese. The project did not engage established writers, but rather,writers from the community who would be able to represent the community. Linguists assisted inorthography development.ThailandThe target community for the UNESCO-APPEAL sponsored pilot project covers two villages. Theliteracy project is being developed and sponsored by the Royal Project “Mae Fah Leung” CommunityLearning Centre (CLC). A literacy survey was conducted by CLC teachers who also organizeda village forum. There was dialogue with community leaders about the bilingual literacy project.In order to build ownership, the CLC teachers discussed a potential writing system for Pwo Karen26