PAR: Literacy Program from Rio Negro

This afternoon, I was invited to the ten-year anniversary of PAR. In those four hours I spent there I learned a lot about the importance of literacy and the fact that not everybody has access to education.

PAR is a program from the province Rio Negro that teaches people to read and write. The interesting thing is that most of the participants in this program are old people who never went to school. Many of them told the audience their testimonies. One of the ladies has a deaf daughter. Only after becoming literate, she could learn the sign language through which she was finally able to communicate with her daughter!

Raimunda, a seventy or eighty-year old lady, told us that she was really happy because now she can write letters to her brother who lives far away. Now that these people are literate, they can do simple things they couldn't do before, such as writing letters or helping their grandchildren with their homework. They were very proud that they don't have to use their fingerprint anymore because they can sign their bank receipts now.

Maria Eva, my host mom, told me that most of the people in the program are descendants of Mapuches. I think it is true because many of the centers in different cities had Mapuche names. However, there are a lot of Bolivians as well. The Bolivians who participate in PAR are younger. They are in their early forties. Yes, there are many Bolivians who migrate to Argentina to work in the fields. The ones that go to Buenos Aires work in textile factories. Things get more complicated here because I just realized that there is large number of Bolivians here in Argentina. Immigration laws are more open and flexible than other countries. For example, immigrants can legalize their status much easier and faster than immigrants in the U.S. Ana Maria, who works as a teacher in PAR, told me that the Bolivians who live in her locality asked her to teach them. There is a lot of enthusiasm to learn because it takes students an hour of walking to get to the center where Ana Maria teaches! Education is key for accessing to better opportunities that can improve one's life quality.

PAR is not just a program that teaches how to write and read. These experiences demonstrates that this is program of social inclusion that integrates people to society. That is how the participants described PAR.