Writing preserves the history of the people

A man from the Kasem literacy team in Burkina Faso was heard to say, "What is written stays with us; what is spoken is soon lost. Being able to read and write has made it possible for me to preserve the history of my ancestors that my grandmother told to me. There are many Kasem people before me who have forgotten the stories of their background. But I am very thankful that I can now read and write in my language and I can write these stories down for our children to read.

We have a saying, 'When an old person dies in Africa, a library is destroyed (burned).' Becoming literate will help us to preserve our 'libraries' for the future. I pray that this literacy program can continue with great success."