Sahara Partners Now Offers English Classes
In accordance with our ever-present goal of meeting the felt needs of the local community, Sahara Partners has launched a new branch of our organization: English Educational Programming. This fall, the head of the local government ministry that our organization partners with approached us and expressed the need for English language education for her workers. She shared with us that since she and her workers frequently interact with visitors, humanitarian aid workers, and government officials from other countries, they often find themselves in a situation in which the ability to speak English is vitally important. She also explained that their work in the government offices makes traveling to other camps for English class challenging and also leaves little time for studying. Additionally, she shared that other local organizations and ministries are in a similar situation, and a number of their workers are also interested in learning English.
Our organization discussed her request as well as similar requests we’ve received. Last year, for example, all of the members of our organization encountered locals who expressed the desire to learn English and often asked us if and/or when we would be offering English classes to the public. As the American saying goes, “the people have spoken.” And we listened. Sahara Partners is now offering English classes for business professionals in the camp where the local government offices are situated. Our teaching staff has a combined total of almost thirty years of teaching experience and over twenty of those years involved work with ELL (English Language Learners) students.
After conducting oral and written evaluations, we divided the students into beginner and intermediate classes. Now after three weeks of classes, the students have shown aptitude and determination to learn and grow in their reading, writing, and conversational abilities. The students come from all five camps and work for a number of different government ministries and NGOs. They shared with us a variety of reasons for wanting to learn English. Some expressed the need to speak English in their workplaces, specifically when interacting with foreigners. Other students shared the desire to sharpen their English grammar and conversation skills. Still others listed English language learning as a way to open up new opportunities for work or travel. One student who is a doctor views English as an important skill to have in his medical profession. Another student hopes to become a translator in the future.
The director of Sahara Partners’ English program offered his input on the newest branch of our organization:
“We are pleased with student enrollment and attendance and enjoy the students’ enthusiasm to learn the English language. We look forward to learning more about their language skills so that we can better tailor lessons to fit their specific needs.”
Sahara Partners is grateful for this new avenue of serving our community, and we hope to offer further English language learning opportunities in the future.
