ABSTRACT
The Nicaraguan Literacy Crusade was part of a national programme of social transformation intended to benefit and empower the poor and disenfranchised. For nearly a year it galvanised the nation’s attention and energies, reaching deep into Nicaraguan society and laying the foundations for a new, equitable form of development. Approximately a quarter of the population were immersed in the intense learning experience; directly or indirectly, through family and friends, the campaign touched almost the entire nation. Some 400,000 Nicaraguans mastered elementary reading and writing skills, studying their history and revolution in the process. By 1981 the number was expected to reach 500,000. Official statistics indicated that illiteracy fell from 50 per cent to 13 per cent. The skills and experiences acquired were intended to serve as a force for national development. Through the Crusade over 50,000 urban young people and their families learned about rural poverty and peasant culture. Close to 20,000 teachers and members of the National Literacy Crusade and participating organisations learned similar lessons and confronted their assumptions about education. More than 25,000 urban dwellers, who served as literacy teachers in the cities, acquired a new understanding of their community and workplace.
On one level the campaign was a social and cultural exchange programme which brought citizens together to learn about one another and develop a new understanding of themselves, their relationship to the world and their culture, sharing songs, poems and history, learning about health care, malaria control and basic sanitation. On another level, it was a programme of economic education and job training, teaching about underdevelopment and the 104challenge of reconstruction, and providing skills necessary for more effective participation in the workplace. Thirdly, it was a political project to forge national unity and demonstrate the commitment and ability of the new government to respond to the needs of the poor and disenfranchised, thereby earning legitimacy and credibility nationally and internationally. The greatest political significance was as a development project aimed at reducing poverty and disparity. The Crusade helped lay the basis for redistributing the nation’s power and wealth. By attacking illiteracy and inequity, it directly confronted major obstacles to the effective participation of large sectors of the population in national development, preparing them for social transformation and the new political and economic structures which this would bring.
The Crusade provoked a strong reaction from members of the ousted regime. The massive nature of the Crusade affected the quality of volunteers’ teaching skills. A gradual regional model of implementation zone by zone would have made possible a better training programme. Implementing the campaign so soon after victory meant relying heavily on organisations and institutions with almost no experience in administration or management. As a result however, regular teachers received training in new educational approaches, with the opportunity to put them into practice, while institutions and organisations were able to develop managerial capacities and improve their operations.
