Strengthening Basic Literacy among Children in Isolated Coastal Communities of the Comoros Islands
Keywords:
basic literacy, coastal communities, Comoros Islands, community-based education, participatory action, small island developing statesAbstract
Isolated coastal communities in the Comoros Islands continue to face significant barriers to basic literacy, including geographic remoteness, limited educational infrastructure, and socioeconomic constraints. This community service initiative aimed to strengthen foundational reading, writing, and numeracy skills among children aged six to twelve residing in three remote coastal villages of the Comoros Islands. Employing a participatory action approach, the program integrated phonics-based instruction, storytelling sessions, peer-learning circles, and parental engagement workshops over a twelve-week intervention period. Pre- and post-assessments indicated a mean improvement of 37.2% across literacy indicators, demonstrating the effectiveness of context-sensitive, community-embedded educational interventions. The findings underscore the critical role of culturally relevant pedagogy and community ownership in sustaining literacy gains in marginalized settings. The program further revealed that consistent family involvement and locally trained facilitators significantly accelerate children's literacy development. These results offer replicable insights for policy makers and practitioners designing literacy programs in small island developing states and other geographically isolated communities.
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Copyright (c) 2024 Ahmed Said M’Changama, Fatima Zahra Ali, Ibrahim Salim Bacar
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