LABE aims to address the need in Uganda for sustainable permanent literacy skills, essential for equitable grassroots development and a way out of poverty.

Women in particular have a very low level of functional literacy skills, and thus face a significant barrier to their full participation in democratic development.

Conventionally, women's literacy programmes emphasise the accumulation of knowledge and rarely encourage the development of skills relevant to women's daily lives.

LABE holds education to be a basic human right, and believes that it increases an individual's ability to address his/her basic needs.

A 1999 Ugandan Government study of people completing a basic literacy programme found that 25%, 42% and 62% said they did not read, write and calculate respectively in their everyday lives because they could not do so well enough.

LABE's aim is to train people to deliver relevant skills at appropriate levels.

To do so, LABE has trained over 1,500 literacy instructors, reached over 19,879 learners (81% women) and trained about 400 trainers of instructors. The one and only goal: Human Development.

We thank our partners and everybody else who joined us in our fight against illiteracy.

Website designed and updated by Sandrine Bareigts

Last update:07/07/2003