Sato (left) tries reading a story book.
Leena (seated third left) with community leaders, Kemas staff and participants of the LEADS course.
KAPIT: The three-month Literacy Education For Adult Skills (LEADS) course organised by the Community Development Department (Kemas) for rural elders at Rumah Bundong, Jalan Bukit Goram here has brought smiles to its participants.
An elder lady believed to be in her 70s, Sato Ujoh, is full of praise for the course as she is now able to acquire the basic 3R skills of reading, writing and calculating.
“I am now very old. I don’t exactly know how old I am. I don’t blame my parents. Like many others, when we were small we never attended school because our parents expected us to help at home – cooking, looking after younger siblings, working in the farm.
“For the whole of my life I didn’t know A, B, C unlike my children and grandchildren who went to school,” she said.
Like many others from her longhouse, Rumah Bundong, she said she grabbed the opportunity to learn how to read, write and calculate.
“I thank Kemas for taking the initiative to conduct the literacy programme at our longhouse. Like many other attendees, now I can read simple story books and the newspaper and it helps me because I sell vegetables at the market to earn income,” she added.
According to Kemas Kapit officer Leena Tero, the LEADS course is conducted by an outside tutor engaged by Kemas for three months per course.
“The aim of LEADS is to eradicate illiteracy among those who never attended regular school to empower them to acquire the basic skills of reading, writing and calculating, which are very useful in life.
“I hope the participants find it very useful in their daily lives and develop their thirst for knowledge and skills. The course is the beginning of the learning process,” she said at the ceremony to present certificates of attendance to the LEADS participants at Dewan Sri Baleh here yesterday.
The course attracted a total of 114 participants from six longhouses – Rumah Ukau, Nanga Bawai, Baleh; Rumah Juin, Nanga Baleh; Rumah William Unchat, Ulu Sungai Yong; Rumah Melayu, Nanga Latong; Tekalit, Song and Rumah Gawan, Sungai Iran, Song.
Leena (second right) presents a certificate to one of the 141 elders who completed the LEADS course.