Sir Adam and his comrades

Students of Literacy Program, Hossein and Dr. Mortazavi- Written by Nader Musavi- 15th January 2014

It has been a little while since we started the Literacy Program again. We had positive feedback; just in the first few days, 10 people came to enroll. They are mainly from working class and labourers. Their hard work is reflected in their dry and rough hands which can be easily noticed when we shake hands. The first group’s leader is “Sir Adam”. His comrades are all young. First time I met him he said: “Mister teacher, we want to learn how to read and write. When we were little we couldn’t go to school because of poverty and deprivation. There was no school in our area either and we couldn’t learn, so we stayed uneducated and now we can’t even send or receive a single text message. Mister teacher please help us to get literate quickly; we want to be able to read the signs and books once we are back home. Their enthusiasm to learn was noticeable from their faces and through their eyes. I encouraged them and noted it is never too late to learn new things. Also, we managed to enroll another group of 10 to come in on a different time. Last night we gave out their books. We took this picture after we finished the class. Sir Adam is the one who is resting his hand on his head contemplatively. After taking the picture I said: “what a great pose you got there Adam!” He chuckled and I could tell how happy he was. Seeing the excitement and hope in their eyes gives me motivation to work harder every day.