Literacy, a tool of freedom

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“Literacy is indeed a tool of freedom, vital for liberating us from ignorance, vital for empowering us to develop and apply our human capacities, vital for the exercise of democratic citizenship. This is why the lack of literacy among one in five of the world’s adults is such a shameful thing—not, let me add, for those lacking literacy skills but for the rest of us who take the practice and benefits of literacy for granted. We must do more to spread literacy; by doing so, we shall spread hope and opportunity, especially for women and the poor.”

Koïchiro Matsuura, director-general of UNESCO, on the occasion of the launch of the United Nations Literacy Decade


Photo taken by: Cedric Nunn/Oxfam of an adult learner participating in a literacy class with Operation Upgrade, ProLiteracy’s partner in South Africa.

Comments

  1. UnknownNovember 20, 2011 at 6:40 PM

    I think you hit the nail on the head when you say literacy is taken for granted by those of us who are proficient. I cannot imagine what it would be like to be trapped by illiteracy. It is time to empower people so they can be more likely to determine their own lives.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jolly PeterNovember 27, 2011 at 12:18 AM

    I agree most of us take literacy for granted. I am in the field of healthcare and lack of health literacy is such a grave problem among the population we serve. Most of the time we healthcare professionals use medical terms to explain diseases and plan of care without realizing that the patient might have difficult understanding these terms. I educate nurses and allied health professionals on health literacy and how they can make a difference in the lives of patients they serve by simplyfying the medical terms. During one of these sessions I had an activity were the health professionals had to simplfy medical terms and it was very surprising that very few could actually do it.

    there is along way to go, but each one of us need to make and effort to spead literacy.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousNovember 30, 2011 at 4:29 PM

    Literacy is to the mind as fire is to wood. The ignition from the fuel keeps the mind blazing as it continues to search for more. Our minds itch to learn new information and to place it into its correct mental file. However, those who are left without the power of literacy is left without fuel for their mind and soul.
    I am an educator of twenty-eight years fueling the minds of young children. I know I have lit a fire when their eyes widen after they have just “got it”. I know a fire has been lit, when I watch two children reading together a simple but electrifying Dr. Seuss laughing out loud.

    I am now working on my Doctor of Education in the Adult Education field at Walden University. My hopes are to light more minds through literacy, however, on the adult levels. I LOVE IT!
    Veronica

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  4. SKWNovember 30, 2011 at 10:02 PM

    "Literacy, a tool of freedom" are powerful words! As a nurse educator, I see health literacy as a huge problem in my area. Not only are there groups of people unable to read and write, they are also unable to follow through with health care instructions provided them.

    What a beautiful lady in the picture above.Her smile speaks volumes. I am so thankful and appreciative of the work Proliteracy International is doing. I have a passion for South Africa and the people. One of my dreams to take a group of my nursing students to one of the medical sites.

    ReplyDelete
  5. EcuatoriGringaDecember 5, 2011 at 11:35 AM

    @SKW thank you for your comment! ProLiteracy has been working in South Africa for more than 50 years. Dr. Frank Laubach actually started working with Operation Upgrade in the 1960s and we have continued to support the wonderful work they are doing for adult learners in South Africa. Stay tuned for more stories and photos from our partners in South Africa – we will be doing a site visit to Operation Upgrade in January 2012 and will be posting trip highlights here on the blog!

    -International Program Manager, Alesha Anderson, ProLiteracy

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  6. EcuatoriGringaDecember 5, 2011 at 11:38 AM

    @Jolly Peter thank you for sharing your personal experiences and stories with us on this blog! We appreciate all that health workers (like you) are doing to educate patients and increase health literacy levels.

    @Dr2013 Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us about the power of literacy. Seeing people’s minds being awakened in new ways through literacy is truly a moving experience.

    International Program Manager, Alesha Anderson, ProLiteracy

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  7. EcuatoriGringaDecember 5, 2011 at 11:39 AM

    @Unknown – thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. We agree, people need to be empowered so that they can make decisions and create change in their own lives!

    International Program Manager, Alesha Anderson, ProLiteracy

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousDecember 13, 2011 at 6:58 PM

    We can appreciate the invention of "blogs" since they bring the world in a bit closer. It allows us to take a trip to other life styles through the eyes of those who are there. The discussion and collaboration is key to the success of any blog.

    Blogs such as this one aids in our understanding and tolerance for other cultures.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Melissa WDecember 13, 2011 at 10:29 PM

    "A tool of freedom"...what a powerful phrase! I am an advocate of financial literacy. I see so many people suffering needlessly due to lack of education, training, and good habits. It is important for us as a society to remember that knowledge is power, and that when unified, we can do much more than we can as individuals.

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousDecember 15, 2011 at 5:39 PM

    Melissa,
    You have peeked my interest. How does one become financial literate? How do you know who to trust?

    ReplyDelete

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