Amidst the violence and social problems in Colombia, CLEBA is empowering adults, specifically those displaced by conflict. Its program has two main components, educating literacy educators, and providing literacy instruction to illiterate adults. Educators participate in workshops to improve teaching methods and to produce new materials. They are also instructed on how to better connect literacy with the real daily needs of the learners. Therefore, their literacy instruction revolves around the realities of the learner’s daily lives. Much of the literacy instruction addresses the issues of violence and the psychological effects of it while emphasizing human rights and peace.
“Personally I feel very happy. I have always believed that the greatest happiness is found in serving others with all of your heart. This is what I do in the literacy project. I help others and I also learn from them at the same time. Today I can live without great problems; I can forgive; I can give advice; and I can recognize my mistakes easily. In addition, I can express myself better in front of others and I can develop my aptitudes. Now I have a better relationship with my family and I can identify solutions to problems that arise. In the literacy project I discover each day the satisfaction that serving others gives me, without expecting anything in return. I only expect to see the dreams of other people come true.”
-Literacy instructor that completed literacy training with CLEBA