READ SI had impacted 170 villages last year through providing literacy classes to villagers and training of local teachers.
This was done through phase one and phase two of the programme.
In phase one, READ SI which stands for “Resources for Education to Advance Development in Solomon Islands” taught 34 villages on how to read books, phonics and simple english for six weeks.
In phase two, READ SI trained teachers in 136 villages from October to November last year so they can be equipped to carry on the work on teaching other villagers.
However, READ SI had not recorded nine villages in Temotu because their officers are still out there.
In phase one, READ SI covered villages in Central, Choiseul, Guadalcanal, Isabel, Malaita, Renbel and Western provinces.
In phase two, READ SI trained teachers in Central, Guadalcanal, Isabel, Makira, Malaita, Temotu, and Western provinces.
Joyce Boykin, founder of READ SI, said it was a success story because people learnt to read up to three readings in three months.
She said they had learnt about phonics and simple English and really loved books.
However, Ms Boykin said the only challenges faced by her team were transportation and communication problems.
“We travelled on boats to reach the villages and it was very expensive.
“Some clusters of villages are out of reach with mobile communication. For example some parts of central Guadalcanal,” she said.
Furthermore, she said they had experienced flooding which prevented them from visiting some villages.
In addition, Ms Boykin said there were too many reading classes but they ran out of materials to teach them.
Next month, she said her team will visit 50 of the 170 villages to do an evaluation through interviews and storytelling.
READ SI aims to reach 300 villages by end of this year.
Ms Boykin started the organisation in 2015 and has since depended largely on funding by local businesses.
Since its inception, the organisation trained teachers and dispatched them to villages around the country.
Last July, READ SI won the heart of former Prime Minister, Manasseh Sogavare, who gave them SB$2 million assistance under a partnership programme between the Solomon Islands Government and Taiwan.
READ SI is targeting 600 of the 6000 villages across the country to address illiteracy.
By EDDIE OSIFELO
