War on Illiteracy Part 2
"History will absolve me" -Fidel Castro Me: Uli ndi zaka zingati ndipo uli standard chani? (How old are you and what grade are you?) Him: Ndili ndi zaka 14 ndipo ndili mu standard 5. (I am aged 14 and I am in grade 5) Me: Umatha kuwerenga? (Can you read?) Him: Chichewa ndimatha koma Chingerezi ndimayesela . (I can read Chichewa but I struggle with English) T ake yourself several years back. Try to recall how you learned how to read and write while attending congested and underfunded public primary schools. If you are a Malawian, you are aware that learning how to read and write was a multilevel struggle. If Chichewa was not your mother tongue, the battle to acquire literacy skills started with learning how to understand and speak Chichewa. Having grasped a good oral command of Chichewa, you knew that your journey to literacy had more miles ahead of it. You had to learn how to read and write Chichewa and then transition to English. Learning t