KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Children of all ages learned to read and write their native language of Pashto in the village of Kundelan, Kandahar province, Aug. 16.

Radio literacy classes, which air on local Afghan radio stations, are another way of reaching out to villagers and spreading education in Afghanistan. By getting more children involved, the audience for the radio literacy program will grow, increasing the stations’ listeners and allowing more people to benefit from the program.

“The purpose of the literacy classes is to gain support for the Radio Literacy Program,” said a special operations forces team leader responsible for teaching the classes.

The RLP is a radio segment that teaches listeners the fundamentals of the Pashto alphabet and numbers. The lessons are part of a daily radio program for children, which allows them to follow along in their reading workbooks. The government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan provides the children with these workbooks to assist them in their pursuit of literacy.

“There are 25 students who show up daily to class,” said the team leader. “However, there are children who show up sporadically, resulting in a total of 40 students.”

The literacy class is considered to be the first step in the process to aid local children with reading and writing. This class prepares children with the skills needed to utilize the Radio Literacy Program efficiently.

“We will be starting class again in a few weeks, ensuring that the children are utilizing the Radio Literacy Program,” said the team leader. “We hope to eventually just have the class to answer questions they [the children] have about any of the work from the previous night.”