Literacy Program

This program was developed as a result of a few key observations made since the start of exploration activities at the Séguéla project in 2016:

•  The Séguéla region has one of the lowest school enrolment rates in Côte d’Ivoire and the villages surrounding the mine are no exception; women in particular are the hardest hit.

•  Some young people in the communities are not able to access some specific job opportunities at the mine, since those require a certain level of education. This gap represents a loss of employment opportunities for the community.

•  Women are unable to carry out various income-generating activities that require knowledge of precise agricultural standards and mastery of a technical itinerary – for which reading and writing skills are mandatory.

Based on these observations, in 2022 we started a literacy program for communities. The aim of this program is to remedy the lack of literacy, a major obstacle to the social development of the local population. During the first edition, the learning program reached over 270 participants in the three villages surrounding the mine. In the light of its success and the interest shown by the population at the end of its first phase, a second edition was initiated to enable more participants with 350 people taking part in this second phase.

To date, all the people who have benefited from the Literacy Program know how to dial a telephone number. This program could make it easier for the women’s associations supported by Roxgold Sango to carry out their income-generating activities. This will facilitate their social and economic empowerment. The model developed by Roxgold Sango is considered a textbook case for the Séguéla regional education department.