As hard as it was for the staff, the cramped quarters also had a major impact on the group's development. At one point we thought about doing a play but postponed it because there wasn't enough room to move --- a wave of the arm might knock into someone. I developed ways of helping women with their writing without getting out of my chair. Making things requiring materials was out of the question. Our physical space was just too limited. Our emotional space was limited as well. Confidentiality for women in the group was a joke at best. Male tutors and learners overheard many of our most intimate discussions. I had to cut conversations short because they were getting too intimate and I knew that others were listening in. Two women ended up leaving the group soon after this period. Although they have other reasons, I blame their departure in part on the cramped quarters and the inherent limitations.

With our limited funding, we could not provide a decent home for the women's group. As staff, we were caught in the middle and left blaming ourselves while trying to cope. The learners in the group were feeling the pressure as well. Here we were all women, all vying for space in an under-funded program, all trying to meet too many needs with too few resources. There was something a little too familiar about this picture - women living in a patriarchal society.

Funding limitations

The application for the women's project included funding to hire me and buy some materials for the group. It did not have adequate funds to rent a space for the group to meet in. The reason is obvious. We didn't expect to get enough in a grant to do all the work that is implied because we usually don't. In this case, space became the largest oversight and this had particular implications in terms of confidentiality and of being wheelchair accessible. Was this an oversight or were we just desperate to get any money at all and didn't want to be seen as asking for too much? I think that this devalued my work before I began.

My project application included the production and publication of a book. I think the book was included in the grant application to justify asking for so much money! I have seen myself and others do this many times before. Is it not enough to provide reading programs? By accepting so little and offering so much over the years we have taught our funders that it isn't enough to work with people in groups or individually. They need to see concrete evidence. We have to produce something. Or have they taught us? And how does the assumption that volunteers can deal adequately with adult learners contribute to devaluing our work?

No matter what the cause, I see that adult literacy work, particularly with women, isn't valued yet. There is no funding category for woman-positive programming anywhere women's funders don't fund literacy work. Literacy funders won't fund women's groups - except as special projects which can't get ongoing funding. Group funding is off limits because my group is considered to be special. Argh!