Through EKARI's programs we provide not only access to a classroom education, but also an introduction to the lifelong learning skills necessary for youth and communities to lift themselves out of extreme poverty. This project provides critical thinking and career guidance sessions for youth as well as adult literacy classes for adult learners.
At schools in Malawi, youth are generally taught by rote learning; to merely memorize the correct answer to exam questions. This mindset unfortunately hinders their everyday lives outside of the classroom, where they assume there is one answer to every problem they encounter. They do not have the skills to problem solve or think critically. This challenge is only exacerbated for illiterate adults. Our programs equip over 70 youth and over 250 adults annually with lifelong learning skills.
Through our Student Support Programs, youth explore their own learning processes through discussions of meta-cognition (how they think about their own thinking). They learn to assess what they know and do not know and determine how best to learn more. They gain lifelong learning skills through debate, goal setting, and career guidance sessions. Through our Community Programs, adults learn not only to read and write, but also life skills such as personal hygiene, sanitation, and finances.
The project will provide life skills training allowing over 70 youth and over 250 adults the ability to identify and change their own learning patterns, ultimately increasing their problem solving skills. Youth will learn to be flexible and engage with challenging learning materials as they continue their education, move into employment, and deal with everyday life obstacles. Adult learners will learn to solve problems for themselves and each other rather than rely on help from outside agencies.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
