Sisters' Stories: 'Before taking literacy classes I felt like I couldn't see'

We hope you enjoy reading our regular Sisters’ Stories, which are all about the women and girls we support from week to week.

This week, we’re introducing you to Aliya, who is another of the beneficiaries of our literacy program. She is 24 and has lived at Rwanga camp for displaced people ever since 2014 when ISIS attacked her city. “Men were being killed and women were being taken into slavery, so we had to flee to the Kurdistan region,” she recalls.

Aliya and her family understandably found adjusting to life in the camp very tough, and because she had been deprived of her own education, she could not read or write either. “This made me feel like someone who could not see,” she adds.

Eventually, she started taking the Lotus Flower’s literacy classes, which means she not only has new skills in reading and writing, but she can also teach her own children. “The classes were very useful for me, and because I can now help myself and my family, it has improved my mental health and helped me stop overthinking things.”

She is far from alone in experiencing these benefits, and so many of the women and girls who take our literacy classes say it improves their psychological wellbeing, as well as increasing their confidence, self-belief and inter-personal skills.

Literacy is one of our core projects, which runs alongside English language classes. During the three-month course, participants develop an understanding of the alphabet, how to write letters and numbers, and soon they are able to construct simple sentences. Classes also include discussion and awareness of key topics around women’s rights. 

Since increased literacy is known to boost women’s social and economic chances and accordingly reduce poverty, we’re sure you understand why offering these classes is - and will remain - one of our biggest priorities…