During their first visit to Malawi in 2007, two Ruth’s Shawl board members heard women describe their hopes and dreams – including a desire to establish a business to support themselves and their families.  The voice of one widow cut above the rest as she proclaimed “How can we do anything, how can we compete in business, when we cannot even read and write?”  Ruth’s Shawl now works to establish adult literacy programs in the city of Lilongwe and within other villages in Malawi.

Ruth’s Shawl now trains teachers to  accommodate for its adult literacy classes around the district so the training includes equipping the teachers for the role of imparting the required knowledge to the learners.There are about eighteen full time employed adult literacy  teachers and currently there are thirteen classes in total which are monitored by the Ruth’s shawl staff on a monthly basis.

The adult literacy program first used Malawi’s Ministry of Education approved teaching materials, in both Chichewa and English, to teach reading, writing, and mathematics.  However, in 2017 Ruth’s Shawl  launched an Adult Literacy curriculum that is centered on the Bible.  The goal with the new curriculum is to train additional adult literacy teachers in all the villages that Ruth’s Shawl serves.  Once the learners demonstrate a commitment to the literacy course and the ability to read and write they receive the gift of a Bible to keep as their own.  Ruth’s Shawl prays that as the people learn to read and write they will share that knowledge with their families and others in the village and start Bible studies to share the good news of Christ.

Please pray for the Lord’s provision as we continue to seek His guidance in the growth of the Ruth’s Shawl Adult Literacy Program. Our hope is that the people will be able to learn and share the Word of God through the program so that lives may be changed by the power of the Holy Spirit.