Hello Anchorage East members,
For this issue of my President’s Column I copied from a couple of Rotary website sources for the following:
Did you know that more than 750 million people over the age of 15 are illiterate? And, that number will increase when the 250 million children who do not possess basic reading skills become adults. Illiteracy traps people in the cycle of poverty and costs the global economy an estimated $1.2 trillion each year in lost earnings and productivity.
This is where Rotarians step in. Each year, district and global grants from The Rotary Foundation provide teacher training, integration of technology into classroom curriculum, and adult literacy programs to communities. Gifts to the Annual Fund make these grants possible, meaning that learners of all ages have access to quality education and a bright future.
These words came from a Rotarian who lives in Africa:
Literacy can be defined as the state of being literate especially the ability to read and write. It also lies in the ability of an individual’s capacity to put those skills to work in shaping the course of his or her life. Genuine literacy involves ‘reading the word and the world’.
Literacy is both a right in itself and an instrument for achieving other rights. The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes the right to education. In modern societies, literacy skills are fundamental to informed decision-making, personal empowerment, and active and passive participation in local and global social community.
Basic education refers to the whole range of educational activities taking place in various settings (formal, non-formal and informal) that aim to meet basic learning needs. It comprises Primary education and lower Secondary education. In developing countries like those in Africa, basic education often includes adult literacy programs.
No matter how much we hate waking up early for school or studying all night for those tests and exams, we all know that education is very important. I am not saying that an uneducated man has no chance of being successful or that an educated man will surely do well in life. Exceptions are always there. However, an educated person gets better opportunities in life.
Countries with high literacy rates are extremely prosperous and the citizens have a high per capita income. On the other hand, in African countries where the literacy rate is not as high, a number of people are still living below the poverty line. Education provides us with knowledge about the world. It paves the way for a good career. It helps build character. It leads to enlightenment. Education makes a person complete.
Benjamin Franklin wrote “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest” while Victor Hugo wrote that: “He who opens a School door, closes a prison.”