South African Kha Ri Gude mass literacy campaign and Australian Aboriginal adult literacy campaign ‘Yes, I can!’: a comparative study

In 2008 the South African Government launched the Kha Ri Gude mass literacy campaign to address the country's adult illiteracy problem. The Campaign drew upon the Cuban Yo, Si Puedo campaign model. In 2012, an Australian non-governmental organisation, Literacy for Life Foundation, likewise informed by the Cuban Yo, Si Puedo campaign model, launched its 'Yes, I Can!' adult literacy campaign aimed at addressing low English literacy among its Aboriginal population. In this paper, the authors from South Africa and Australia compare their campaign models" campaign partners" curricula" materials" targeted students" achievements" monitoring and evaluation processes, as well as the challenges experienced in executing the campaigns. The paper identifies various similarities which pertain to the strong influence of the Cuban model on the two campaigns and some variances which the authors attribute to the unique socio-political contexts of the two countries. What was common across both campaigns was the strong community involvement of local indigenous role players who participated in the implementation and monitoring of the movements and who motivated and supported learners to keep them involved in learning to the end of the programme. This feature strongly characterised the Cuban model.