How Sara Learned to Read

The foundation for success in any area of life is literacy, but while Egypt graduates the vast majority of its children from school, many go from grade to grade and even graduate without ever having learned to read. We find children enrolled in school that are illiterate, teach them to read, and then enroll them in Not Alone.

We also focus on the child’s psychological and emotional needs, not just their physical needs. This has allowed our Reps to solve the root problems that keep these children from reaching their potential.

No one understood why Sara*, for example, cried whenever anyone spoke to her, refusing to learn to read and refusing to go to high school after she finished preparatory school. Whenever a reading teacher was brought to her home to teach her to read, she would hide in another room or cry and refuse to sit with the teacher. We realized something was deeply wrong here and spoke extensively to Sara’s mother. We were horrified to discover the root of Sara’s problem.

When Sara was six years old, her two older siblings died in a violent car accident. On the day they died, their mangled bodies were brought back to Sara’s home and paraded in front of her eyes. Ever since then, she cries daily, cries when she sees people, and won’t speak to anyone.

We knew that Sara would need extra attention. In this village, taking Sara to a psychologist carried the stigma of taking the girl to the “crazy doctor,” so instead Sara’s local Rep recruited his wife’s assistance in giving Sara special attention. His wife has a background in psychology and serves as a Sunday school teacher in Sara’s church. The Rep’s wife switched her Sunday School class so she could teach Sara’s class. She took Sara on many outings, and took her into her own home to listen to her and talk to her. Sara has now started to speak to her and feels secure talking to her. She has now accepted the idea of having a reading teacher and improved her reading enough to become a part of Not Alone. Sara is now enrolled in her first year of secondary school.