Basic Education and Literacy
Posted by Dave Hall
I was sitting at my computer last night and I happened across the story of an American Rotary club that was working with a sister club in Sri Lanka to help rebuild schools that had been literally wiped out by the great tsunami a couple years ago and thinking what a nice project that must be, how worthwhile, how its right in line with Area of Focus Four for Rotary International (Basic Education and Literacy).
When I was done reading the article I immediately went on to another story on the BBC net and once again, the obvious struck me right in the head. Something I take completely for granted, something that ALL of us just know as a part of our life--the ability to read and write--is NOT something that is just a natural right. For heaven's sake, as of last year India had a literacy rate of only 74% which means more people are illiterate there than in the whole of the United States. How can we move seriously forward on world peace and understanding if we have this number of people who can't read about differing cultures, if we, as a member of the world community/family fail to provide a basic education for the children? WE CAN'T! So all of a sudden, once again, I was struck by the timeliness and the selflessness of those Rotarians out there in the middle of far-away, working to make the future brighter for a child, and maybe make the world a better place to live!!!
In the Spirit of Rotary,
Dave
In the Spirit of Rotary,
Dave