MAKKAH: Over 800 elderly men and women, including a 105-year-old woman, took part in the literacy campaign conducted this summer by the Saudi Ministry of Education, represented by the General Education Administration, in Jazan.
Approximately 233 male and 599 female students are enrolled in 28 educational centers across the region in Samtah, Ahad al-Masarihah, Al-Harth and Al-Aridhah governorates.
In cooperation with government agencies and the non-profit sector, numerous activities and events were carried out in the educational, cultural, social and health sectors.
These activities aim to develop the life skills of the beneficiaries and ensure that they achieve their educational and cultural goals, in order to guarantee them an equitable, comprehensive and quality education.
One of these students was 105-year-old Shaqraa Tohari, who enrolled at the Al-Dabra Education Center in Ahad Al-Masarihah because of her strong desire to learn to read and write.
She said she felt very happy while standing next to the blackboard and writing the alphabet, sitting in her seat and writing and reading numbers, or reading Surah Al-Fatiha or short surahs from the Holy Quran, all the while enjoying the support of her teachers.
“I really wanted to learn to read and write, even though I am already over 100 years old. It is a dream that I have waited many years and decades to realize,” she said.
“Despite all the challenges and my increasing age, this dream has become a reality. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity that I should never have missed,” said Tohari.
The centurion said that she dedicated her life to raising her five sons and four daughters. She gave them an education and dedicated her life to them.
But deep in her soul, she always wanted to be able to teach them something and help them with their homework.
“The Kingdom's interest in providing education to all and eradicating illiteracy has helped me to realize my dream. It has motivated me and the women of my village to make progress in education and to make up for what we have missed.
“Education and learning are the dream of every human being. They aim to eradicate ignorance and illiteracy.
“(We) enriched their knowledge with simple scientific facts taught to them by their teacher at the elderly education center,” she added.
Tohari's son Ibrahim said his mother was extremely happy to enroll in the adult education program as it was the fulfillment of a dream she had been waiting for for decades as she believed in her right to learn, write and read like other women.
Ibrahim's 35-year-old sister Nourah drives her mother to the education center every afternoon and her other children help her with her schoolwork.
Ibrahim said the women of the village were extremely proud of his mother when she successfully completed her first year.
Ibrahim explained that his mother was distinguished by her zeal and determination to complete her studies and learn new subjects.
