Justice for Women: A Collaboration with Low-Income Women Summer 2011
a program of the Intercommunity Peace & Justice Center
Advancing Adult Literacy in Rural Washington
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Progresos en la Alfabetización de Adultos en Zonas Rurales de Washington
adquirieron el uso de un salón de la biblioteca de Omak para una clase piloto ¡y reclutaron diez nuevos tutores voluntarios! Jennifer resumió la experiencia: ”Nuestro proceso no sólo se trata de logros, se trata de fortalecer a la comunidad, encontrar recursos, organizarnos y sentir que todas podemos tener un impacto positivo”.
mak—The Omak-Okanogan Women’s Justice Circle has made tremendous mak—El Círculo de Mujeres para headway in the advancement of adult la Justicia de Omak-Okanogan ha literacy. Literacy is an indispensable and avanzado enormemente en la alfabetipowerful tool without which communities and individuals remain stifled. “There are many women who yearn for skills”, said Taleah, a Puppets & Teen Dating Justice Circle facilitator, “yet have Violence Prevention little idea how to attain them or where to go for help.” By recognizelridge—The women at ing literacy education needs and Santa Teresita Family Housing connecting with local resources, creatively engaged the issue of they have strengthened themteen dating violence prevention selves and their rural community. in their community. Through their The English and Spanish personal experiences as survivors, speaking women, some of whom the participants identified the Justice Circle participants with members of the Okanogan lack reading and writing skills, urgent need to educate their County Literacy Council. were inspired by their own expechildren about domestic violence. riences. Their research identified They developed a unique and zación de adultos. La alfabetización es the need to learn to read and write in one’s innovative method of engaging youth in una herramienta indispensable y poderosa first language. They developed a learning their community. que paraliza el progreso de las personas model that would include both Spanish and Facilitators featured a puppetry y comunidades que carecen de ella.”Hay English literacy education and incorporate performance to dramatize how abusive muchas mujeres que anhelan adquirir nuea variety of learning styles. The Circle prepatterns can be learned by children and revos conocimientos”, dijo Taleah, una de las sented the learning model to the Okanogan peated later in life. The child in their story, facilitadoras,”pero no tienen la menor idea Literacy Council. They negotiated curricuwho witnessed abuse at home, becomes de cómo adquirirlos o dónde acudir para lum changes, acquired the use of a room at an abuser as a teenager and is jailed when pedir ayuda”. Gracias al reconocimiento de the Omak Library for a trial-run class and his partner reports him to the police. His la necesidad de alfabetización y la creación recruited ten new volunteer tutors! arrest leads the family to have a dialogue de conexiones con los recursos locales, about domestic violence. The show, put las mujeres se han fortalecido a sí
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“This whole process is not just about what happened, it’s about building community, finding resources, organizing, and feeling that we can make a difference.”
Jennifer summed up the empowering experience, “This whole process is not just about what happened, it’s about building community, finding resources, organizing, and feeling that we can make a difference.”
mismas y a su comunidad rural. Las participantes se inspiraron por sus propias experiencias ya que algunas de ellas no saben leer ni escribir. Sus investigaciones identificaron la necesidad de aprender a leer y escribir en su lengua materna. El Circulo creó un modelo de aprendizaje que incluye material educativo en inglés y español para la alfabetización e incorpora varios estilos de aprendizaje. El modelo fue presentado ante el Consejo de Alfabetización del Condado de Okanogan. Las mujeres negociaron cambios en el currículo,
Facilitators designed puppets, scenery and wrote the script for the puppet show.
Intercommunity Peace & Justice Center • 206.223.1138 • www.ipjc.org