21 Nov 2018

Out of School Education Training (OSET) programme facilitator in Tsamaya in the North East, Ms Bazibi Nelson, says the programme is meant to close the illiteracy gap.

In an interview, Ms Nelson said most OSET participants were aged between 55 and 76,  therefore, they might lose interest  if they were restricted to reading and writing only.
Consequently, she encouraged them to engage in handicrafts to keep busy.

She said on Mondays and Wednesdays, they engaged in reading and writing, while on Thursdays they engaged in handicrafts, adding that any designed products were stockpiled and later sold.

She said the participants were also given an opportunity to showcase their end products during open market days or whenever there was an agricultural show.

On another note, she said though participants often designed their items individually, there were some projects where they were encouraged to work as a group in order to instill the spirit of teamwork.

Ms Nelson said they recently had a bakery group business project to cultivate the spirit of teamwork, business management and planning, and the profits generated were shared equally among those who took part in the project.

She said there were only nine participants in the project, comprising of eight females and a male, noting that the major challenge was that men were reluctant to enroll in the programme, though they also battled with issues of illiteracy.

Meanwhile, 76-year-old Ms Lungisani Mphinyane had nothing but praise for the OSET programme.

She said she now designed flower pots and baskets, which she sold to supplement her old age allowance.

Ms Mphinyane said after realising that paper mash products easily wore out, she used pieces of cloths to neaten the rough edges and add colour to her products.

Ms Naomi Bathusi aged 71, also appreciated the OSET programme, indicating that gone were the days when she struggled to write her name or read.

She said ever since she learnt how to read and write, she felt her dignity had been restored all thanks to OSET.

Ms Bathusi also shared that she had been given a poverty eradication project of small stock production, revealing that she was able to fill the assessment forms all by herself and that she is able to follow instructions in relation to her project. ENDS