Since the 1970s and 80s, adult literacy classes have come to be seen as an integral part of non-formal education programs. CARE Nepal has been including non-formal education in its development projects since 1990. At first, such programs emphasized both basic and functional literacy. Nowadays the focus has shifted more towards functional literacy. This is because it soon became apparent that basic level classes alone did not allow participants to progress beyond a very general stage of literacy. As a result, CARE Nepal started sending basic-level graduates to functional literacy classes too, to acquire the kinds of skills that would allow them to benefit from the opportunities being made available by local development projects. This included the content of conservation education, improvised farming systems, kitchen gardening and compost making and use of improved cooking stoves etc. Due to lack of proper information their participation was observed low in development activities as desired level, therefore, functional literacy classes became a priority activity as a means of providing them with practical skills for their empowerment.
At first, the objective of the REFLECT methodology was to mobilize the participant empower them and increase the effectiveness of such functional literacy programs. It was only later that it took on an empowerment dimension and became a means of bringing about social change by transforming unequal power relations.
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