“The most important thing in your own life is you yourself. It is your own name. ”
This quote is from Brique Zeiner, chairwoman of Live and Learn in Kenya.
Brique Zeiner considers the ability to write one’s own name one of the most important skills that can enormously influence a person’s self-esteem.
Therefore, the dedicated English teacher regularly offers crash courses in literacy for the parents of our school children during her annual visits to the LLK Education Center in Nakuru. She teaches parents to write their own name and to read and write simple words.
The parents, of whom about 80% are illiterate, are happy to accept this offer and are obviously proud to be able to write their own name at the end of the course – and thus hold their heads up high after signing a document at a government office instead of just drawing and ‘X’ or giving a fingerprint as a signature.
This experience also makes them aware of the importance of their children’s education.