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Reach Out to Asia recently hosted a reflection event at the Education City Student Centre to recognise the outstanding achievements of Education City’s low-skilled workers and volunteer student tutors who have participated in Rota’s Adult English Literacy (RAEL) programme. |
Rota’s learning initiative was conducted in collaboration with select universities, and in partnership with Qatar Petroleum (QP), to enable workers achieve personal goals and improve life opportunities, far from their daily duties.
“Our partnership with Reach Out to Asia is a longstanding commitment, and sponsoring Reach Out to Asia’s Adult English Literacy programme clearly demonstrates the strength of QP’s partnership approach in our corporate social responsibility initiatives,” said Abdulrahman al-Obaidly, QP Public Relations and Communication Department manager.
During the reflection event, students and migrant workers were felicitated with certificates for participating in the 2013/2014 RAEL programme, the fifth and “most successful” Rota Adult English Literacy drive to date.
For the current academic year, Rota has implemented the RAEL programme in partnership with three Education City universities - Georgetown Qatar, Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar and Carnegie Mellon Qatar.
Eighty-five university students taught basic and intermediate-level English to 250 workers employed across the three universities, with cleaners, pantry staff and other support staff among the Education City workers benefiting from improved English-language skills.
Rota’s Adult English Literacy classes are taught during a 16-week period split into two terms. The first term began on September 22 and ended on December 22, with the second term starting in February and finishing this month.
“The Rota Adult English Literacy programme is a means of supporting workers to enhance their ability to achieve personal goals and improve life opportunities. We hope that by participating in the RAEL programme, participants have developed higher aspirations and an increased sense of wellbeing and empowerment,” said Essa al-Mannai, Rota director.
“We are thankful to our sponsor, Qatar Petroleum, who also shares our belief of supporting workers to enhance their ability to achieve personal objectives and improve life prospects, through our adult literacy programme.”
First developed in 2009, the RAEL programme was created primarily to develop the English literacy and language abilities of low-skilled migrant workers in Qatar.
For more information about all of Rota’s programmes, visit www.reachouttoasia.org or the Rota Facebook page at www.facebook.com/reachouttoasia
