MAKKAH: More than 800 elderly men and women, including a 105-year-old woman, took part in a literacy campaign organized this summer by the Saudi Ministry of Education, represented by the General Education Administration, in Jazan.
About 233 male and 599 female students attend 28 educational centres across the region in the governorates of Samtah, Ahad, Al-Mazariha, Al-Harth and Al-Aridha.
A number of educational, cultural, social and health activities and events are organized in collaboration with government agencies and non-profit sectors.
These activities aim to develop the life skills of the beneficiaries and ensure that they achieve their educational and cultural goals to ensure equitable and inclusive quality education.
One such student is 105-year-old Shagra Tohari, enrolled at the Al Dabra Education Centre in Ahad Al-Mazarihah, reflecting her strong desire to learn to read and write.
She said she felt very happy standing next to the board to write letters, or sitting on a seat to write and read numbers, or reciting Surah Al-Fatihah or short surahs from the Quran, all while receiving support from her teachers.
“I am passionate about learning how to read and write, even though it’s been 100 years. It’s a dream I’ve been waiting to make come true for years and decades,” she said.
“Despite the many challenges and my age, this dream has become a reality. It is a golden opportunity that I cannot miss,” Tohari said.
The centurion revealed that she spent her life raising five sons and four daughters. She educated them and devoted her life to them.
However, deep down in her soul, she always wished she could teach them and help them with their homework.
“The Kingdom’s interest in providing education to all and eliminating illiteracy has helped me achieve my dream. It has inspired me and the women in my village to move forward in terms of learning and catching up with what we have missed.
“Education and learning are the dreams of everyone, which aim to eliminate ignorance and illiteracy.”
“(We) enriched their knowledge with simple science facts learned from teachers at the senior education center,” she added.
Tohari's son, Ibrahim, said his mother was delighted to enroll her in the adult education program because it reflected a dream she had been waiting to achieve for decades, believing in the right to learn, write and read like other women.
Ibrahim's 35-year-old sister, Norah, drives their mother to the education center every afternoon, and her other children help her with her homework.
Ibrahim said that when he finished his first year of school, the women in the village were very proud of his mother.
Ibrahim said what made his mother stand out was her enthusiasm and determination to learn and learn new subjects.
