Illiteracy lies at the root of poverty, ranking as one of the prime impediments to earning a living wage. An estimated 900 million people about a quarter of the world's population do not have the literacy and numeracy skills needed to hold a job or get a better one.

Helping people to achieve these skills and become self sufficient is one of the most critical tools available for fighting poverty. Because girls do not have access to education in many parts of the world, women comprise two thirds of the illiterate population. Providing women with literacy skills can have far reaching positive effects.

A mother who can read will teach her children to read, helping to break the cycle of poverty enchaining her family. Although 98 percent of the world's illiterate live in developing countries, more than a third of the adults in industrialized countries cannot read well enough to decipher prescriptions or fill out employment forms.

Rotary's Response 

In 1985, Rotary International declared basic literacy to be a fundamental precondition to the development of peace. It has produced a series of publications for Rotary clubs designing literacy projects; the most recent, the "Rotary Promotes Literacy" handbook.

Through the organization's emphasis on functional literacy, extending to the year 2000, Rotarians are urged to address the full range of literacy issues including primary education, vocational education, teacher training and adult education.

A recent survey indicated that more than half the world's 28,000 Rotary clubs conduct literacy activities. Early childhood and primary education In a 1987-1991 project supported by The Rotary Foundation's Health, Hunger and Humanity (3H) Program, Rotarians in Thailand and Australia developed a literacy program that dramatically reduced mass school failure in an educationally difficult region of Thailand.

The government of Thailand adopted the program for all the nation's schools. Recently, the Rotary Club of Dhaka, Bangladesh, and the Rotary Club of Footscray, Australia, launched a project to bring the Concentrated Language Encounter method of teaching literacy to Dhaka's primary schools. The Bangladesh government is supporting the effort underwritten by a 3H grant.

The Rotary Club of Honolulu Sunrise, Hawaii, USA, developed a "Read To Me" media campaign, encouraging parents to read aloud to their children. Promoted through a club foundation, the project has been replicated in six other U.S. states and in Ontario, Canada, and Mexico.

In France, local Rotarians developed the Socially Handicapped Children Literacy Program, providing tutors for selected sixseven year old children, then distributed a project workbook to Rotary clubs throughout the country. The Rotary Club of Masteron South, New Zealand, distributes children's books to new mothers with pamphlets which identify book resources and encourage reading aloud.

Working with Human Rights Now, the Rotary Club of Lahore Midtown established the Kasure Village School, paying teachers salaries and providing materials for students who would otherwise have no access to education. Canadian and Indian Rotarians established the Bombay Pavement College to give street children both literacy training and entrepreneurial skills.

Students receive loans for such small business ventures as shoes shining, car washing, and bicycle repair. Rotary clubs in Calcutta are developing literacy programs for street children in slums and for children in poor rural villages. Adult Literacy Programs Nigerian Rotarians are addressing low literacy rates for women in their country.

In Osogbo, a Rotary program provides two hours of daily literacy training to market women. In Ibadan, Rotarians coordinate the literacy training component of the vocational training conducted by the National Directorate of Employment. The Rotary Foundation, an Alabama, USA, Rotary district and the National Literacy Cooperation are working with the Rotary Club of Johannesburg, South Africa to establish adult learning centers and teach literacy.

The Adult Literacy Center in Gainesville, Georgia, USA, is supported by the local Rotary club which provides salaries and scholarships and generates donations from local businesses. Further south, eight Rotary clubs in El Salvador are working with the national ministry of education and a five year program to establish a network of literacy centers which utilize local high schools students as tutors, supervised by state selected teachers.

Rotary finds imaginative solutions. The Rotary Club of Mataram Yogyarkarta, Indonesia, set up literacy classes in a rural community's health center. In Glendora, California, USA, the local club created the Rotary Teacher's MiniGrant Fund to encourage teachers to try innovative techniques. Books Over the years, Pennsylvania Rotarians have shipped millions of books to Africa.

The Ranfurly Library Service in England, which has sent millions of books to developing countries, is supported by Rotary Clubs in England, Ireland and Australia. In Argentina, Rotarians established a Book Bank to distribute books to libraries and schools throughout the country.