The program aims to benefit over 1 million people in Mozambique through health, nutrition, and education initiatives over 3.5 years. It has established 242 school learning clubs and trained 1,483 new primary teachers, exceeding targets. The document discusses two case studies: a teacher, Pelágio Abílio Muteli, who uses creative teaching methods like songs and games; and a student, Selena Abdul Issa Chibalambala, who improved her literacy through a school learning club.

1. Planet Aid, Inc. along with its in-country implementing partners, ADPP Mozambique (ADPP) and the World
Initiative for Soy in Human Health** (WISHH), are carrying out a 3.5-year multi-faceted health, nutrition, and
educational development program to benefit more than 1 million students, teachers, parents, and community
members in Mozambique. The program was launched in 2012 is being carried out under the U.S. Department
of Agriculture’s McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program.*
This progress update focuses on two aspects of the program: teacher training and student literacy. The program
aims to improve the academic performance of 60,000 children through better quality teaching, and is set to
train 4,000 new primary school teachers in Mozambique. In addition to improvements in classroom teaching,
the program will establish 242 School Clubs in each of the participating primary schools. The aim of the clubs
is to create a broader more robust learning environment to further strengthen academic performance among
children.
Since the project was launched in 2012, all 242 School Learning Clubs have been established, exceeding the
target date by more than one year. In addition, 1,483 new primary school teachers supported by the program
enrolled at the 11 ADPP Teacher Training Colleges in the first year (the first-year enrollment target was 900)
and 825 new teachers have graduated from the program.
To further illustrate the program’s success in the areas of teacher training and student literacy, this update also
provides two brief case stories: the first is about a teacher (named Pelágio Abílio Muteli) who was trained under
the program, and the second is about a primary school student (Selena Abdul Issa Chibalambala) who acquired
greater language mastery through her participation in a School Club.
* The McGovern–Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program helps support education, child
development and food security in low-income, food-deficit countries around the globe. The program provides for the
donation of U.S. agricultural commodities, as well as financial and technical assistance, to support school feeding and
maternal and child nutrition projects.
**A program operated by the American Soybean Association (ASA).
U.S. Department of Agriculture
McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program
ADPPMozambiqueMozambique
Progress in Training
Primary School
Teachers and Improving
Student Literacy in
Mozambique

2. “Acertou, acertou, muito bem!” (“Got it right, got it right, very well!”) sing the second graders at
the EPC 5 de Fevereiro Primary School in Machava, Mozambique.They end their chant with a loud
round of applause to honor their classmate who has just written the letter “A” correctly on the
blackboard. The song is part of a play that encourages children to take active roles in the class. The
proud little girl has barely reached her desk when her colleagues eagerly line up to write the next
letter. Every one wants to be sung to.
Pelágio Abílio Muteli, a Teacher Thinking Outside the Box
and Teaching Beyond the Book

3. “If there is a student in the class who is lagging behind, it is the
teacher’s responsibility to see that the student gets all the support
and help needed in order to catch up with the others.”
— Pelágio Abílio Muteli

4. “The most important thing
is to create a willingness to
learn in a child. Achieving
this depends on the
creativity of the teacher,”
explains Pelágio Abílio
Muteli, from the ADPP
Teacher Training College
of Maputo (TTC) when asked about how to teach
children to read and write.“One can use the traditional
ABC-book, but one can also use songs and games, for
instance. In fact, children learn best through play and
games.”
The 25 year-old Pelágio is among the TTC Maputo
students who benefitted from the support provided by
the Food For Education Program.He began his student
teaching practice period at the EPC 5 de Fevereiro
Primary School in February 2013. The practice period
spanned 8 months, during which the students had the
opportunity to get first-hand experience of what it
takes to capture the attention of lively primary school-
aged children.
“My best experience was the extra-curricular classes
that we gave to students who had problems in reading
and writing,” Pelágio says. “They were very successful
in making children learn. In the beginning there were
only 16 students participating in them but they got so
popular over time that the whole class would come to
them at the end. Not one single student failed at the
end of the year exams and I am convinced that it was
thanks to our classes.”
The secret, according to Pelágio, was in the “alphabet
box”,a didactic tool he designed with his colleagues.The
box itself was made of simple cardboard and included
all letters of the alphabet cut from colorful cardboard
paper.The idea was to let the children use the letters
to build words as if they were constructing a puzzle.
“This made learning the alphabet and practicing writing
a fun game,” he explains.
Pelágio accepts no excuse from teachers whose
students perform poorly, “It all depends on the teacher.
If there is a student in the class who is lagging behind,
it is the teacher’s responsibility to see that the student
gets all the support and help needed in order to catch
up with the others.”
He also stresses the importance of creating the
conditions for learning from the very beginning. “My
technique is to ensure that all children feel comfortable
right from the start. I treat every child as if I already
knew him or her. In this way he or she will feel that we
are friends and that we are working towards the same
goals,” he explains.“This is key in reducing shyness and
in creating a real willingness to learn.”
Pelágio Abílio
Muteli (continued)

6. “I didn’t use to like Portuguese very much,” confesses
Selena Abdul Issa Chibalambala, a 11-year-old girl from
Chobela,Magude District.“I had problems with reading
and writing. The words seemed to bounce around
when I read them and it was difficult for me to write
long sentences.”
All that changed in 2013 when Selena moved to the EPC
Movane Primary School,where the Food for Education
Program was being implemented. Participating in the
school’s Learning Club established by the program was
crucial for Selena.The more relaxed practice sessions
available through the Club allowed Selena to make
substantial progress in her mastery of Portuguese.
“We do all sorts of things in the Club,” explains Selena.
“We read stories, learn about Portuguese grammar
and practice writing texts given by the teacher. Some-
times we write whatever comes into our mind and the
teacher then corrects the texts.”
“We have a lot of fun in the Club!” she adds with
excitement.“The thing is that we like to learn together
and help each other. Sometimes we stay studying until
late in the evening.”
Selena’s improvement enabled her to help other
children get interested in learning to read. She
explained how she helped a young boy named Julinho
to read and write.
“Julinho lives next to me. He is not at school yet but
if I continue teaching him, he might know how to read
and write before going to first grade!” she adds with
a smile.
Selena’s teacher, Augusto Salomao Mucocana, is very
happy with her improvements. “The change in only a
few months has been very promising,” he says. “She
seems like a different student now. Not only does she
read and write a lot better, she also has a lot more
confidence as well.”
As proof, Selena adds with pride in her voice,“I got a
20/20 score from my last Portuguese test!”
Selena is the youngest of her family. She has three
sisters and one brother. Her mother works the family’s
machamba (a subsistence farm plot). Her agronomist
father is her role model; when she grows up she
would also like to be an agronomist. She knows that in
order to be one, she will need to work hard at school.
“It’s only a question of studying a lot,” she says with
determination.
Selena
Abdul Issa
Chibalambala
Success Through
Learning Club