Monthly Rotary Theme (March 2017)
March: LITERACY Month
Combating illiteracy has been a major focus of Rotary International since 1986 – and for good reason. UNESCO estimates that despite rising literacy rates for youth and adults, there are over 800 million illiterate adults in the world and about two-thirds of them are women. More than 57 million children of primary school age are not in school. Millions more are functionally illiterate, without the reading and writing skills necessary for everyday life.
Rotary recognizes March as Literacy Month. This is when we focus on the importance of literacy and education in our humanitarian service. Being literate does not just mean having the ability to read a book or a newspaper. Being literate means being able to comprehend the instructions on a medicine bottle, a set of directions, or a job posting. It means understanding the note written by a child's teacher. It means being able to use a computer, follow a recipe, or apply for a mortgage. Literacy means being part of the larger society. It means inclusion, and it means empowerment.
Those who cannot read or write, whether they are children or adults, are cut off from important information in ways too numerous to count. They are less likely to be healthy and more likely to be poor. And perhaps most critical of all, parents who cannot read are more likely to raise children who cannot read -- perpetuating the cycle of illiteracy, and of poverty.
Rotarians have demonstrated many simple and creative ways to break this cycle. Whether it is by volunteering in schools, by bringing education and training to adults, or simply by ensuring that all children have the books and supplies they need, we in Rotary can do so much. We can help others learn to read and learn to help themselves. For example, in lieu of a "speaker gift," our Club donates a book to the Jarrell Elementary School Library each time we have a guest speaker at our weekly meeting (hundreds of books added to the Library after many years of this practice). Our Club has also recently supported District 5870's program for matching gifts by contributing funds to several area Libraries (City of Georgetown, Florence, Liberty Hill and Jarrell ISD).
(Literacy graphic created by Becky Tsukishima web-editor of the Rotary Club of Richmond BC and District 5040)