RWANDA — A former Niles resident and Edwardsburg graduate is working to increase literacy across the globe.

Mari Grover is from Niles and is a graduate of Edwardsburg High School Class of 2014. In 2018, Grover graduated from Western Michigan University, and a few months later Mari arrived in Rwanda on Sept. 18, 2018. After three months of extensive pre-service training in Teaching English as a Foreign Language certification, Rwandan culture, and daily language training in the native language of Kinyarwanda, Grover was sworn in as a U.S. Peace Corps Education Volunteer Dec. 12, 2018.

Currently, Grover lives in the eastern province of Rwanda, and teaches English in secondary school with over 2,000 students. The local community is rural, located close to the national park and is without electricity, according to her parents Larry and Cindy Grover.

Grover teaches within a Rwandan co-teacher to introduce new teaching methods and to build teacher capacity. The school is without many amenities schools in the United States are accustomed to. Large classes are common in Rwanda, and Grover teaches four classes of senior 1, and two classes of senior 2 — the equivalent of seventh and eighth grade — with class sizes of over 50 students in each.

The government of Rwanda shifted from use of French to English as a method of instruction in schools only 10 years ago. English language proficiency is still a challenge across the country.

Although Grover’s primary project is to teach English and to train school staff on modern teaching methods, she has begun a large secondary project at her school: creating a sustainable reading library. The library promotes literacy in the local language of Kinyarwanda and also in English. The school has currently no library or reading books for pleasure.

Reading for enjoyment is still a new concept in Rwanda, and high book cost in Rwanda presents a challenge for public schools, according to Grover. It is still said that a “culture of reading” does not exist in Rwanda, but Grover has found a desire for reading books by her students and teachers at her school.

“It is important for students at the school to not only have high reading proficiency in English, but their native language as well,” Grover said. “This library will give all students an opportunity to increase their literacy skills and academic performance.”

The library project will include a Peace Corps Partnership Program grant to supply bookshelves, tables, chairs and reading books in the local language of Kinyarwanda. The school will contribute 25 percent to the grant and build bookshelves.

While Grover is working with her counterparts and school staff, her family and friends in Michigan have begun to help contribute to the project and hosted a large book drive. Her family, Cindy and Larry Grover, of Niles, are collecting English reading books from local libraries, schools and individuals. More than 600 reading books in English have been collected so far, and her family is asking for donations to help cover the cost of shipping of the donated books directly to the school.

To donate books or donate for shipping, contact Cindy and Larry Grover lcgrover1@gmail.com.