August 7 
August 7
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Somali Bantu women learning in the camp literacy class |
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A previously illiterate woman writes her name on the board |
"We went to one of the literacy classes in the camp, housed in a large open-sided classroom. Inside are a number of Somali Bantu women and babies all dressed up in bright colored scarves (we are told most of the men are out in the mornings seeking ways to supplement the apparently too meager portions of food they receive). The women are reciting words of greeting from off the chalkboard, all in unison as they chant “Good morning” “How are you” “Bye see you later.” We walk into the class and all eyes are on these strangers as the children who have followed us crowd around every inch of the low mud brick wall and are constantly shooed away as they try to sneak in closer. We’re introduced as visitors from America who have come to see how the Bantu are doing in the camp. They respond to our greeting in chorus with “Welcome” and “Nice to meet you”. We’re already impressed with how much English the group has already learned and will be even more amazed as we meet classes of people who four ago had never held a pen in their hand and are now writing their names on the chalkboard and solving arithmetic problems."