64-year-old discovers the joys of literacy

Nackeshia Tomlinson, Gleaner Writer

TREASURE BEACH, St Elizabeth:

IMAGINE BEING unable to read and your only reprieve is the mastery of basic numeracy. Until about a year ago, that was the daily reality of 64-year-old Rhoda Hamilton, who said she was a victim of poverty.

"It was nine of us. I am the second-biggest one. The oldest one was on his own, gone to work, so everything leave on me. I could not get to go to school. I had to take care of the children. That's why I couldn't read," said Hamilton, mother of three.

She said this deficiency continued even when she began having her own children as she was the primary caregiver and had to work constantly.

However, Hamilton said she was always bothered by the inability to read, which prevented her from functioning properly in society. As a result, when she went to church, she had to ask someone to find the scriptures, but could hardly follow the preacher as she could barely recognise the words.

At the bank, she would experience similar problems as she would have to ask someone to assist her whenever she wanted to complete a form. Her inability to read even played out at her workplace, where she is a part of a school's ancillary staff.

Hamilton said at times, students would ask her for assistance with their lessons, but she had to refer them to their teacher as she was unable to assist.

Her greatest disheartening period with not being able to read came with her children.

"When them come with homework and mi know say a mi should a help them and mi can't help them the right way, it was painful," said Hamilton.

For her, the only positive experience during that period was the fact that her children maintained their respect for her.

She told The Gleaner that she got the chance to turn things around in 2010 when she became aware of the Treasure Beach Women's Group, which offered reading lessons for adults. Her excitement was heightened when she heard that a computer class was part of the package.

TEMPORARY SETBACK

However, she faced a temporary setback after a bout of illness, which required surgery, forcing her to postpone her dream. Since last year, she has attended classes consistently and even took the initiative to request a scheduling adjustment from her teachers in order to do both the computer and reading classes.

According to her literacy teacher, Jeanne Genus, Hamilton could figure out words, but did not have the visual memory resource to draw upon because she did not have enough reading experience.

Genus said currently, she has started to achieve word recognition. She can now understand the scriptures and complete bank forms on her own. Hamilton has also acquired basic computer literacy and is now able to type letters, conduct research on the Internet, and send emails from her very own email account.

"Is since I can read I find out what I was missing," said Hamilton who plans to continue on her reading journey.

rural@gleanerjm.com