Reach Out to Asia (Rota) has once again launched its Adult English Literacy (Rael) Programme for the benefit of migrant workers.

The programme is being implemented this year in collaboration with Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar, Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, Northwestern University in Qatar, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar and the Public Works Authority (Ashghal).

The programme sponsored by Qatar Petroleum enables migrant workers to take a break from their daily duties and acquire language skills that can help them achieve their personal goals and improve their opportunities in life.

The initiative allows the migrant workers to develop their ability to effectively communicate at a basic level in English in their daily activities.

Having started on September 6, the Rael Programme will take place over a 16-week period that is split into two terms. The first term began this week and will last for eight consecutive weeks, while the second term will start in February 2015.

This year, more than 120 volunteers from Qatar Foundation’s branch campus universities, Ashghal and Rota are entrusted with the task of helping low-skilled workers improve their English language skills.

By teaching workers within their own organisations, the student volunteer tutors will help improve productivity as well as demonstrate a commitment to social responsibility and life-long learning.

The Rael Programme provides both an educational opportunity for workers who may have had limited schooling in their own countries and a valuable service learning opportunity for the students and volunteers who will gain new teaching skills along with an understanding of different communities and their needs.

The training course will cover a variety of topics to support the student volunteers in becoming full-fledged Literacy Trainers. The topics covered in the training will include teaching and learning, communication and understanding the overall context of global migration.

Rota’s Community Development manager Abdulla al-Bikri said, “Rota’s Adult English Literacy Programme has proved to be a very effective way of supporting migrant workers and empowering them to achieve their aspirations and goals at work. I am pleased to see such a big number of volunteers signing up for this humanitarian initiative. We are thankful to our sponsor, Qatar Petroleum, which also shares our belief of supporting workers to enhance their ability to achieve personal goals and improve life opportunities through our adult literacy programme.”

“We at Qatar Petroleum are delighted to continue our sponsorship of Rota’s Adult English Literacy Programme as this initiative is fully consistent with the human development pillar of Qatar National Vision 2030,” said Abdulrahman Abdulla al-Obaidly, Public Relations & Communications manager of QP. “We wish the participating workers all the best and would also like to commend all the student volunteers who are contributing their valuable time and efforts for the continued success of this programme.”

The Rael Programme, which was introduced in 2009, offers young people in Qatar the opportunity to take part in experiential service-learning, thereby developing their skills and knowledge as Rael Literacy Trainers and Champions.