Literacy and Numeracy

The Harvest Rain Adult Literacy classes began in the late 2002 when Bev Gosling, who had herself lost the ability to read through a stroke - and then miraculously regained it again - wanted to use her professional training as a specialist teacher to help other adults who struggled with reading.

Today the program is one of the most successful Adult Literacy and Numeracy programs operating in Queensland.

Each Tuesday and Thursday an enthusiastic team of volunteer tutors give up their time to help up to 36 people discover the thrill of being able to read or write, or for some who are new Australians, to learn to read and write in English for the first time.

Resources which Bev Gosling has written specifically for students in the Harvest Rain Adult Literacy Classes have now been widely recognised, and are now sold to other Literacy Classes.

Future Plans

What does the future hold? "That's a big question" says Pastor Fred, "but we are committed to helping empower people for life - socially, economically and spiritually."

In addition to helping people with food and helping people with literacy training, over the past two years we have also been involved in community employment programmes

• working with the long term unemployed and disadvantaged
• and helping them get a fresh start in life."

"We are now actively exploring new ways and programmes through which we can help even more people in the future."