Guides sent abroad produced many moving stories. However we have come to realise that people born in Commonwealth countries need to learn to read in their mother tongue, indigenous languages first.
Papua New Guinea has 839 indigenous languages
Nigeria has 525
Australia has 250
Canada 70
Botswana 20
We hope to work together with the
President of the Commonwealth
the Commonwealth Education Trust
and the Commonwealth universities –
to inspire students to design abeke same-shape pix
teaching-reading charts in their mother tongues
In memory of
H.E. Acting High Commisioner of Sierra Leone, Agnes Macauley
Loving, much-loved Agnes and her assistant Thelma Williams worked with Libby, Nick and Russ to produce the Krio mother tongue teaching- reading chart. We hope it will serve as template for other Commonwealth mother tongue charts.
Agnes also translated the Sierra Leone National Anthem into Krio and taught Libby to sing Tel am tenki.
Agnes hosted events and conferences in front of the President Julius Maada Bio and his wife
Fatima, the new High Commisioner, Dr Morie Komba Manyeh, and any other Bigwigs she could find,
where she gave Libby the opportunity to speak about their hope that - with Teach a friend to read -
Sierra Leone, the 'Athens of Africa', would be the first country in the Commonwealth to eliminate illiteracy,
as an example to us all.
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His Excellency High Commissioner for Sierra Leone
Dr Morie Komba Manyeh, shown here with
President Julius Maada Bio,
has agreed to give his full support to our mission
to end illiteracy in Sierra Leone.
Students at the universities will be asked to design
Abeke teaching reading charts in their mother tongues
of Fula, Kono, Kissi, Kuranko, Limba, Mandingo,
Mende, Temne or Susu –
using the Krio teaching-reading chart as a template.
Then Salonians of all ages who can read will be able
to teach their mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters,
friends and neighbours to read.
No training or qualifications required!
Sierra Leone, the Athens of Africa, will lead the way
for other past and present Commonwealth countries
to end illiteracy through each one teach one to read.
