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 Chichew...