USAID | Vamos Ler! (Let’s Read!)

The Government of Mozambique has committed to improving early grade literacy outcomes by expanding and building upon a national bilingual education program. Studies show that learning to read in one’s local language before learning the national language—Portuguese in Mozambique—leads to higher rates of literacy.

The Mozambican school system faces many challenges. Schools have a paucity of local-language reading materials, as well as teachers and administrators who are trained in local-language instruction. Furthermore, teachers, educators, and parents are often unaware of the value of learning to read in the local language.

Building on World Education’s very successful USAID-funded USAID|Aprender a Ler project, which worked to improve the early grade reading outcomes of more than 320,400 children, by training almost 5,000 teachers and 1,150 school directors in 1,213 schools, World Education is partnering with Creative Associates to implement the USAID | Vamos Ler! (Let’s Read!) program.

The new project, Vamos Ler!, continues World Education’s evidence-based approach to strengthening the government’s ability to create policies, tools, and approaches to early grade literacy that are flexible, results-oriented, and cost-effective.

Like Aprender a Ler, the new program is improving in-school instruction and at-home reading support in Zambézia and Nampula provinces, while helping the Government of Mozambique establish national policies and systems to sustain and expand early-grade literacy bilingual education. The program will assist the Ministry of Education and Human Development (MINEDH) develop students’ skills in reading and writing in the local language, while improving speaking and listening skills in Portuguese as they prepare for the transition to Portuguese in Grade 4.

To achieve this goal, Vamos Ler! has three main objectives:
1) Improve the quality of reading instruction at the early primary level.
2) Improve policy frameworks and delivery systems for early grade reading.
3) Increase parental and community engagement in early-grade reading.

World Education implements all program activities in the province of Zambézia, where approximately 1,500 schools, 6,800 teachers, 1,500 school directors, and 450,000 children in eight districts are expected to benefit from the program.

Vamos Ler! is funded by the US Agency for International Development. World Education, Inc., as a subcontractor to Creative Associates International (CAI), is responsible for teacher training and coaching, monitoring and evaluation, and studies to inform program design and support policymakers.