“Frederick Douglass taught that literacy is the path from slavery to freedom. There are many kinds of slavery and many kinds of freedom, but reading is still the path.”
― Carl Sagan
If you can think, then you can do. Being literate is not an option but a choice. A choice of uplifting and empowering oneself to reach new heights. Literacy and communication skills not only enhance one’s personality but also open the door to opportunities. A miserable life can be converted to a satisfactory life. Why am I posting this? Because I want the people to know the benefits of learning and hence, becoming literate.
Statistical records from National Assessment of Adult literacy (NAAL) say that literacy can be classified into three major domains- prose, document and quantitative. Although the quantitative literacy score has risen by 8 in the past years, there has been no significant change in the figures of prose and document. The reason for this is the unawareness and the wrong approach for learning something new. If we look at some of the past records, we can see that all the negative actions like crime, poverty, illness, unemployment, etc, are all because of illiteracy. There exists a vicious cycle that affects the well being of the person. It begins with the choice of not learning and takes its toll as the age increases. Lower literacy levels affect a major part of the population. About 50% of the unemployed people are illiterate. 43% of the illiterate people are below the poverty line.
What we can do?
Being the literate section of the society we can spread awareness. If our initiative helps even one single person to start learning, then the world will become a better place to live.
Why should people start learning?
1. To get employed and become independent
2. To earn for their families and provide food, shelter and hygienic living conditions
3. To avoid crime
4.To be able to advocate and speak up for themselves and obtain their rights
5. To develop a good personality
6. To be able to lead others on the path of literacy
And there are many more reasons because without knowledge life is meaningless. Read. Write. Speak. Remember literacy is a bulwark against poverty and other miseries, a building block for development. It will enable democratization and consequently promote the identity of the individual.
As a part of this literacy intervention, I vow to spread awareness and persuade atleast three people to start learning.
“There is no such thing as a child who hates to read; there are only children who have not found the right book.”
― Frank Serafini