8th September, 2016 was the 50th anniversary of International Literacy Day and this year KCM chose to celebrate one of the heroes of our literacy efforts. William Munthali is a contractor employee at KCM in his late 40s. After dropping out of school in 1979 because of poor health, he decided to join the adult literacy programme run by KCM and the Ministry of Education. In 2015, Mr. Munthali sat for his Grade 7 exams (end of primary education examinations) where he was the second best performing student in his district, Chingola, with 783 marks. He has continued his junior secondary education with KCM support and hopes to eventually become a teacher.

It is because of people like Mr. Munthali that UNESCO has rated Zambia highly for progress in youth literacy rates. Research has shown that the literacy of parents greatly influences the education of their children. Parents with higher levels of literacy are more likely to actively be involved in their children’s education. By getting formally educated themselves, parents like William Munthali greatly improve the educational prospects and future livelihoods of their children hereby ending the cycle of poverty in Zambia.