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Remember Plato's allegory of the cave? That story is relevant today more than ever, to have information all around you, and yet you cannot ably read or understand it. It is heart-breaking having to ask someone else to communicate on your behalf simply because you cannot speak, read, or write in the common language. It feels like being caged in the dark, only seeing the deceptive shadows moving along that cave wall!
DCI is achieving its goal of enlightening the lives of those adults who missed out on the opportunity to go to school, granting them a free chance to learn how to read and write in English and their local languages, and as well empowering them with numeracy, entrepreneurial skills, and other general knowledge to advance in their society.
Over the years, more than 1500 adults have passed through our program and taken charge of their own futures, building the economy in their local areas, and impacting the lives of their children. Classes have been held all around eastern Uganda, and now through the central regions. We graduate these students after two-and-a-half years of classes and practical experience.
In January this year, 158 students finished their course at a ceremony in Mbale Town. They demonstrated their knowledge to the crowed by reading randomly chosen texts while others translated them, and others gave powerful speeches in English, and yet others presented creative dramas showcasing their testimonies and reasons for completing the program. We've already heard wonderful stories from these graduates, and we will be sharing more with you soon.
Currently we have a dozen classes ongoing, with nearly 400 students, in three different regions of Uganda. But the need is even greater, and we now have official mandate to serve the whole country. This will entail some real expansion and even more efficiency, but we are ready for it on the ground. More student and class sponsorships, along with some grants, will help us realize our vision.
We believe that each one of us has special skills and talents regardless of the age, and regardless of the opportunities that one might have missed in childhood. But communication can be a limiting factor. Therefore we expose these adults to literacy and we create an environment for them to shine with their God-given potential. No more need to ask others to interpret life for them, no need for others to support them. They can now understand the real information for themselves. No more false shadows!
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