 If someone had told 28-year-old Lourdes Simao when she was a young girl that one day she would not only be able to read and write, but would also be encouraging other women to learn to read and write, she would not have believed them. Lourdes was born in Cuamba, in northwestern Mozambique. Her life looked said to be a difficult one. Lourdes' family was never rich, but things became even harder when her father died. She knew then that her mother would never be able to afford to send her to school. Instead of learning to read and write, the young Lourdes had to embark on farm work alongside her mother so that the family would have enough to eat. Her situation was not unusual in Cuamba. Girls often miss out on educational opportunities in this area, and many of them are married off when they are still very young. Girls had resigned herself to the prospect of never learning to read and write. That all changed when she learned about the Adult Education Literacy Project run by Progreso Association as part of the Girls Inspire Program. Lourdes decided to make the most of the opportunity to learn, even though she was now an adult. Her hard work, commitment and enthusiasm paid off. She can now read, write and count, which means, for example, she can find her way to clinics and hospitals without asking for help. And these days, Lourdes does more helping than asking for help. Her new skills and abilities mean she can help her children with homework. She is so pleased with what she has accomplished and how it has empowered her that she actively encourages her friends to sign up for adult literacy classes, so that they too can learn to read and write.