Waterloo evaluation of active literacy 2014

Background:
The contents of the alpha programs: reading, writing, calculating in national language, learning French orally or through writing, developing sets of themes on environmental protection, decentralization, the citizenship, the governance and health,. The training addresses school dropouts and non-educated women.

Implemented by two NGOs ACEF and GRAADECOM in two culturally different zones in Mali. They are the Baémbara areas in the rural district of Ouéléssébougou, in the region of Koulikoro, and Sénoufo in the rural district of Kléla, in the region of Sikasso.

Purpose/objective:
Acuiering Active Literacy skills, life skills and enhancing the local economy through loaning and savings groups. Develop female leadership for them to fully engage in offical roles and take responsibilities

- developing skills of the adults (women in particular) for an improvement of their living conditions; 
- turning the women into the " engine " of the local development through a good comprehension of the process of decentralization, giving them capacities to control the actions of the local authorities, to follow-up and assume responsibility and education of the children, to participate in the decision-makings, etc.)   
- supporting the emergence of a female leadership.

Methodology:
Field visit, literature review, questionnaires and interview guides for key stakeholders; SFC groups, heads of villages, non-members of SFC groups, animators, NGO partners and the responsible person at SF WA. Due to delayed rainy season in one field location the visits where during sowing time, which hindered access to parts of the male population. Animators were on leave.

Key findings:
• The program is good at the mobilization of women and on the linkage of women and the communities to the active alphabetization strategy.
• The current situation is extremely different from the one before the project. Today, we note more diversification of the IGAs than before. Each learner performs at least an incomes generating activity. Many were those who “folded the arms”, while waiting for something from the husband or from a relative. Today, personal devotion to auto promotion is the motto of each alpha woman
• The high quality of the didactic materials and the availability of supervisors
• 73.33% of the women foresee and plan for the future actions using the skills from their training
• The program has positive effects on women on key issues like family planning, hygiene and use of mosquito nets.
• The program has significantly increased the women ability to: use a cell phone, use a calculator and scales
• Increased awareness of the importance of obtaining legal documents
• The introduction of French as an essential component of the training

• 98.33% of women can read a text in the national language, 97.5 % can write, 97.5% can calculate 
• 93.33% have acquired the skills to manage their own business and to raise their voice in the community 
• 91.66% have acquired competences in how saving can lead to change
• The radio broadcasts have positive effect reinforcement of learning

Weaknesses: 
• Center animators need to increase their level of knowledge
• Some cases  of dropout occurs (6,2 %) due to lack of motivation
• Uneven learning level of the learners
• Lack of consumable didactic materials, especially pens.

Recommendations:
• Increase the knowledge of the level of animators
• to re-examine the duration of the training by organizing re-training sessions in order to avoid a return of newly literates back to illiteracy; 
• Improve the ratio of textbook to learners 
• More flexibility needed in scheduling of courses to find a good balance between domestic activities and Active Literacy Course.  
• To provide a financial support to the learners of the active literacy within the framework of the financing of the incomes generating activities

Comments from the organisation, if any: