Dan joined the Men's Literacy group in his early 40s. He is employed full-time in a supervisory role. Dan joined the group to improve his literacy skills to cope with the demands of a recent promotion at work. The group has helped as he doesn't feel 'dumb' anymore. He isn't afraid to ask questions now whereas before he thought it might make him look stupid. He knows he can spell and write, and is just learning the skills now he missed out on earlier. He doesn't have to take work home to do anymore as he can confidently write reports at work now. He can help his children with their home work.

Traveling around, not knowing how to read properly, it was difficult. I had to ask directions at shops and petrol stations. People were very helpful when they heard I had a Kiwi accent.

One night in England I was trying to find a back-packers in a certain street and I couldn't find it. But I saw a hotel in the same street and spent the night there. I really enjoyed the hot bath and the luxury at the hotel. It cost me about 50 pounds for the night. Fortunately I could afford to pay that much.

In the morning, when I got up, I saw across the street and down a wee bit was the back-packers! I felt like a twit. So I booked into the back-packers across the street and spent two more nights there.

I really enjoyed looking around London, and not being able to read well did not stop me. I have traveled around Europe mostly on my own. Now I am learning to read better.

Terry joined the Men's Literacy group in his early 40s. Married with three school age children, Terry is employed full time. He joined the group because he wanted to improve future job prospects and he also wanted to be of more assistance with family life, such as helping with children's homework, going on school camps, and attending meetings with teachers, etc. The group has helped Terry write now without thinking about it. He has gone on a school camp whereas he wouldn't have done that before in case he had to read out loud or fill in a report. Reading isn't a chore for Terry now and he reads simply for enjoyment.

Neil joined the Men's Literacy group in his late 40s. He is married and employed full-time. Neil felt he needed stronger literacy skills to cope with the changing demands of the job. Since joining the Men's Literacy group Neil has grown tremendously in confidence and he no longer feels he will be 'caught out'. Now he reads the newspaper and books with understanding and enjoyment. He feels at ease surrounded by people in the group who have similar literacy issues.

Three years ago I could not read very well, so I decided to do something about it. The health nurse where I work told me about Literacy Aotearoa. So I went along and had an assessment. A couple of weeks later I had my first lesson with my tutor.

My tutor introduced me to the game of Scrabble. She said it would be a good help with spelling and reading. Soon I joined the Scrabble Club where I met lots of new people and made new friends. I have even been to the "Scrabble Festival" which is held in Norfolk Island every year. This year will be my third trip to the Festival.

I love to go ten-pin bowling and belong to a league team. We play on Sunday nights. It is very competitive. Last year our team "Lucky Beginners" came third and were awarded a trophy to keep. This year we hope to do better.

After working a forty-hour week, exercising at the Gym, working on the computer, playing scrabble, Housie and ten-pin bowling, then fitting in a reading and writing lesson, there's no time for anything else!

Melissa joined the Women's Literacy Group in 2005. A motivated young mother, she was keen to improve her understanding and skills to help her bring up her young son Harry.

Since joining the group Melissa believes her self-confidence and skills have grown, she feels she has come out of her shell and is now able to speak more confidently within the group and her daily life. Her writing skills have improved, she reads more fluently and has achieved a number of unit standards.

A really positive change for Melissa has been her increased reading and writing skills and the practical changes these have made in her life. She is now able to write a grocery list, keep a diary, and read and understand the kindergarten newsletters. A highlight for Melissa is now being able to read bedtime stories to Harry, reading for herself and not getting so bored. The provision of childcare means that Melissa is able to bring Harry to the course and know he is safe and enjoying himself nearby.

Harry is going to school soon, so Melissa is exploring further training opportunities which will help her get a job.