Educational Projects

“Before I could do nothing and now I can do everything,” one woman reports after taking an Alter Forum literacy course. “I can read the milk labels, go to the bank by myself and read my children's medicine bottles”. A large sector of the population in the Sahara region is still illiterate. This keeps people ignorant and dependent in their daily lives. Alter Forum employs teachers to instruct classes of anyone who is interested in empowering themselves through education. Men and women are offered a chance to learn to read and write. Literacy courses are designed to meet two goals: (1) giving people the ability to complete basic life skills, and (2) preparing them to use their new literacy in conjunction with a skill in a job or small business enterprise.

Mouna School provides preschool and elementary education for the children and training for the teachers. The children are not only instructed academically but are encouraged to follow values that will make them productive, responsible and conscientious citizens.All children are equal at Mouna School, girls are given the same opportunities as the boys in all areas. We believe that each student must be given a chance to reach their potential and we help the children to understand what it takes to succeed. The school promotes positive behavior and reinforces good values.

The earlier children are given a chance to explore, learn and discover the better their chances are for a future. Alter Forum International provides a preschool program to some of the poorest families in the country. The idea is that this program will begin to form children into successful, informed adults. They will be given the tools and confidence that they can go further in life and achieve their dreams

Computer skills are essential to be able to keep up with the current century. Technology is advancing every day which makes progress more rapid. People must have computer skills to compete in the job market and in education. In addition, the internet has opened up the ability for people to connect in a way they never could before. When someone learns to access the bigger world, they are given the chance to learn about new people and places and widen their worldview. Alter Forum has provided computer and internet training seminars and opened a Cyber Café as one of its micro projects.