MAKKAH: More than 800 elderly men and women, including a 105-year-old woman, participated in the literacy campaign organized this summer by the Saudi Ministry of Education, represented by the General Administration of Education, in Jazan.
About 233 males and 599 students enrolled in 28 educational centers in the region in the governorates of Samtah, Ahad al-Masarihah, Al-Harth and Al-Aridhah.
Several educational, cultural, social and health activities and events were organized in partnership with government agencies and the non-profit sector.
These activities aim to develop the life skills of the beneficiaries and ensure that they achieve their educational and cultural goals to guarantee their equitable and comprehensive quality education.
One such student was 105-year-old Shaqraa Tohari, who enrolled at the Al-Dabra educational center in Ahad Al-Masarihah, reflecting her strong desire to learn to read and write.
She said that she feels happy sitting next to the blackboard to write the alphabet or sitting on her chair to write and read numbers or read Surah Al-Fatiha or short surahs from the Holy Quran, all the time enjoying her support. Professors.
“I was passionate about learning to read and write, even though I was over 100 years old. It is a dream I have been waiting to achieve for many years and decades,” she said.
“Despite all the challenges and the fact that I'm getting older, this dream has come true. It is a golden opportunity that I could never have missed,” said Tohari.
The centurion revealed that she has spent her life raising her five sons and four daughters. She educated them and devoted her life to them.
However, deep down she always wished she could teach them and help them with their homework.
“The Kingdom's interest in providing education for all and eradicating illiteracy helped me to fulfill my dream. It motivated me and the women in my village to go further in learning and catch up with what we missed.
“Education and learning is everyone's dream, aimed at eradicating ignorance and illiteracy.
“(We) enriched their knowledge with simple science facts provided by their teacher in the senior education center,” she added.
Tohari's son, Ibrahim, said his mother was extremely happy to enroll in the adult education program because it represents the dream she has been waiting to achieve for many decades, believing in her right to learn, to to write and read like other women.
Ibrahim's 35-year-old sister Nourah drives her to the education center every afternoon, and her other children help her with schoolwork.
Upon successfully completing the first year, Ibrahim said, the women of the village were extremely proud of his mother.
Ibrahim stated that what sets his mother apart is her passion and determination to complete her education and learn new subjects.
