Lisa Scott
Northern News Services

Rae-Edzo (Oct 13/03) - Now that Roy Richardson is learning to read and write, he jumps at the chance to help his two daughters with their homework.

He used to hide his illiteracy from his family, including his wife Janice. Richardson quit school after Grade 8 to become a hunter on the land full time. He never learned to read or write in school.

"I always did work. I never really cared for education at that time," he says.

When his daughters started asking him to help with their studies, Richardson tried to hide his secret from them. Then he decided to come out in the open. "I was always hiding. They (his daughters) come to me and I'm stuck and didn't know what to do" he says.

His wife Janice suspected, but never approached her husband about the subject. "I wasn't surprised. There's a lot of people like that," she says. The Rae resident decided to take advantage of the adult learning program at his work, and has been studying through his employer, BHP Billiton for two years.

The company offers their Workplace Learning Program on site. They bring instructors in and provide the courses free to workers.

Richardson needs basic reading skills to perform his job working as a maintenance helper in the truck shop.

Richardson told his instructor Elke Heinemann "I want to start from the bottom."

Two years later Richardson still has problems reading the newspaper and is working on reading a full book.

His writing is also coming along, having started without any written ability. "I really want to be like everyone else who can read," he says. "I want to go slowly and work my way up."

Before starting the program, Richardson hadn't stepped inside a school in 23 years. He came back with a zest for learning, something he never had the chance to do as a child.

Richardson was recognized for his efforts recently with the 2003 Canada Post Literacy Award at a luncheon as part of NWT Literacy Week.