Tsehai Loves Learning

Amharic, the official language in Ethiopia, has a 231-letter alphabet, making it one of the most difficult languages to read and write. The east African country has a population approaching 90 million and has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world. Amharic is a second language for many children in the country whose first language may be Afaan Oromo, Tigrigna, Af-Somali, Hadiyyisa, Wolayttatto or Sidamo Afoo—just to name a few. While the Ministry of Education does mandate teaching children in up to 22 mother tongues in early grades, most schools have no access to learning materials such as children’s story books in their local languages, workbooks or classroom posters.

However, efforts to increase literacy rates for Ethiopia’s primary school children are starting to gain momentum. In collaboration with the Ministry of Education, USAID helped develop new instructional materials and train teachers as well. Now, more children are learning to read in their mother tongue.