Africa-Press – Cape verde. Sixteen people, including fishwives, fishermen and residents of fishing communities in São Pedro and Calhau, now know how to read and write thanks to a literacy project developed by the Mindelo Fishwives Association (APM).
In an interview with Inforpress, APM project technician Diandra Monteiro explained that the project, called “Alê k gosta” (Read with pleasure, in Portuguese), began in November 2024 and will end on Friday, the 30th, with the delivery of certificates to the aforementioned graduates.
“Alê k gosta”, she explained, is part of the comprehensive project “Amdjer d ́txeu luta” (Woman of much struggle, in Portuguese) which aims to improve the situation of its members through “inclusive, sustainable and accessible” fishing.
“We are going to close the training in São Pedro and the idea is to promote an exchange with students from the school in that community in which the trainees will talk about their experience and the impact that reading and writing had on their lives”, explained the same source.
Diandra Monteiro indicated that throughout the literacy process, trainees benefit from sessions on various topics such as Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and reading texts on GBV, so that they feel more aware and familiar with the topic.
Over the course of these six months of training, taught in three two-hour classes per week, according to Diandra Monteiro, it was possible to see a “great evolution” in the trainees who “became more independent” and many are now able to communicate through written messages with family members on social media.
“Right now, we have fishmongers and fish handlers who were previously unable to read or write who can now read a few words, form sentences and communicate better with their families. Their pride is visible, their eyes shine, because this project has given them a certain autonomy that they did not have before,” he added.
The same source also reported that the “Amdjer d ́txeu luta” project will be closed in September and the APM will start a new one, called “A sea of communities”.
This will cover the same themes and results as the first, in addition to integrating the area of sustainable tourism, so a second phase of the literacy course to reinforce the learning of fishmongers and fish handlers is not ruled out.
For fishmonger Marlice Andrade, 46, who was part of the group of graduates, literacy helped her develop her skills because, despite knowing how to do math, she had difficulty reading and writing.
“We will finish on Friday and I am happy because I will receive my diploma. I learned a lot because I had difficulties reading and writing and now I can read a little. This training awakened my desire to learn more and so I will continue taking adult literacy classes at night,” the fishmonger said.
In addition to teaching its members to read and write, the APM offers craft courses for fishmongers, teaching them how to make jewelry such as earrings, necklaces and bracelets using fish scales.
An activity that, according to the AMP, should be developed to help fishmongers increase their income.
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