There are about 1 billion illiterate adults in the world today. Think of it. That’s about 1/6th of the world’s population. We always hear about lots of other issues, but is illiteracy ever really highlighted? Not really. I think it’s mostly because people don’t realize how huge a problem it is and the implications of such a large number of people being uneducated. In this post, I’ll help define the problem and present an ACTUAL project that I undertook and that you can too in order to make an impact on world illiteracy. I’m the founder of Project Literacy, a student initiative to decrease illiteracy in the world today.
Here are the facts and how illiteracy dooms developing countries:
- About 1 billion people are illiterate in the world.
- That’s 26% of the world adult population
- 2/3rds of the world’s illiterate population are women
- Illiteracy means that people do not have access to education.
- Illiteracy is expected to continually rise in the 21st century because more than 125 million children in developing countries are not enrolled in even primary school. This number does not even count the number of individuals that do not go onto middle school or secondary school.
- Without education, the level of economic development in these countries because the labor force can only complete manual jobs. These type of jobs are low paying, thus individuals cannot stimulate the economy through spending and etc..
- The average family in Cambodia, India, Nepal, Vietnam, and dozens of other countries lives on much less than $1 US a day.
So now that you see that world illiteracy is a problem, what could someone like you or I do anything about it? The two ways to solve illiteracy are: 1) adult education and 2) compulsory schooling for children. Basically, creating access to education and books.
So this is the idea I came up with: Why not hold booksales in order to raise money for building schools, language and computer labs, establishing libraries, and giving scholarships to underprivileged children.
And thus, Project Literacy (www.projectlit.org) was born!
The steps:
- Inform the community about the cause, your goals, and events that you are planning (bookdrive and booksale)
- Find a storage location
- Collect books by holding a community bookdrive
- Find a good booksale location in a public place where lots of people go by. Outside a local library or a park is a good place.
- Sort the books by category: children’s books, children’s paperback, adult paperback, children and adult hardcover, etc.
- Hold the booksale with volunteers from your local school/college. There are tons of volunteer service organizations that offer hours for helping out.
- Price the books and start earning money!
- Advertise and inform again so that people in your community are aware of your efforts and that they come to your book sale.
- After the booksales and once you’ve earned enough money, choose an organization to support. My chapter donates to Room to Read (www.roomtoread.org) because for $2,000 you can build a library stocked with books in the local language and in English. And for $8,000 - $10,000 you can build a whole school! Just for $250 you can finance a girl’s education all the way till college. Choose a cause that fits how much you’ve earned and what you want to work towards.
- HAVE FUN!!
(Picture is of me [on the left] and my friend who started this initiative at one of our booksales!)
If this sounds good to you in real life, please check out our website (www.projectlit.org) and inquire about how you can start helping out! Start your own chapter/committee/club at your school or work with a current community service club. Once you’ve started, you’ll be highlighted on the website as an official charter.
So, what are you waiting for now? TAKE ACTION! We've all got a good education and access to books, why not spread the wealth? That's what motivates me.
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I don't see illiteracy as a very big problem. In a country that consists of primarily farming communities or close knit tribes, there's really no necessity for a person to read. A person who would end up working in a factory or on a farm to keep his family fed doesn't really have any need for an education, especially if there are no jobs nearby which an education would be an asset. You also say that people in southeast asia (and dozens of other countries) live on $1 US a day, but you neglect to remember that they are also living in a different economy in which $1 US can buy a whole lot more than it can over here.
I appreciate your effort to change the world, but when you attempt to force first world ideals on a third world country, things get all screwed up.
--Mike
Actually, Mike - most economists and international researchers would disagree with you. Even in countries where farming is the primary source of income and small tribes/families are surviving on what would be a pittance here in the US, there is still a great deal to be gained from the ability to learn. The use of fertilizers that don't deplete soil nutrients, the knowledge of proper irrigation, the ability to work together to solve larger problems are all increased with education and with literacy in particular. You might find it interesting to read the book "The End of Poverty" by Jeffrey Sachs. I certainly did, and I learned a lot about the way the world works in those places where poverty and prosperity walk a thin line. The difficulty is when the "first world" countries expect "third world" countries to behave as we do - but that's not necessary. A little education and a little leg up is what many of the extremely capable people in these third world countries need in order to be able to live at their best in their own way.
Wow well said, much better than I could ever had to. What I'm saying is I'm not expecting people everywhere to suddenly have to go to college. I'm really just focusing on creating access for primary schools/libraries where basic skills can be learned. It may not immediately make a difference since technically these areas rely on farming/labor type of jobs but basic education (just being able to read and write on a low level) creates a sense of empowerment and opportunities to go beyond just their own village, something that in itself is valuable.
It may sound idealistic to educate the world's masses, but it's just another problem in our world. But at the same time though I think it's a fairly attainable goal in order to be resolved. The good thing about building libraries/schools is that these are long-lasting and can affect multiple generations. Also when a school is built, it serves several villages at the same time so it can have more of an impact. I calculated that on average, 300-500 different kids would be able to access this kind of primary school every 2-4 years (depending on how long they stay in school.) After some time the effect of the school builds up.