Charchar Literacy

We work with primary schools in Malawi to improve the literacy levels of thousands of underprivileged children across the country. These children are required to be fluent in the English language by the time they reach Year 5, when all subjects are taught and examined in English. CharChar has developed a literacy program (the CharChar Literacy Programme – CCLP) to support the Malawi National Curriculum and the National Reading Program (NRP). The CCLP focusses on developing the phonemic awareness of teachers and pupils through the delivery of phonics workshops, on-site training and support to our own volunteer literacy support specialist teachers and government teachers alike. CharChar trains Literacy Support Specialist teachers (qualified Malawian graduate teachers) who volunteer to teach for one year at CharChar supported government primary schools. These teachers deliver phonics centred English lessons daily. They also take small groups of children throughout the day for additional phonics based activities, to reinforce class based learning. Additionally, CharChar Literacy Support teachers run a CharChar library for the whole school. CharChar also provides a range of teaching and learning resources, supplementary reading books, and a colour-illustrated dictionary for primary school children.