How Can Illiteracy Be Solved?

When we ask how can illiteracy be solved, we must understand the factors that promote literacy. The different factors that contribute to illiteracy can be approached in different ways. Organizations and governments are familiar with these factors, and many programs worldwide are working to solve this issue.

Globally, we enjoy an 86% literacy rate, which is an incredible increase from the 12% of 1820.1 However, there are still 773 million people who do not have enough literacy skills to complete daily tasks, such as reading street signs for public transportation.2

The number one contributor to illiteracy is poverty, followed closely by gender bias, meaning more women than men are illiterate worldwide.3 This means that to solve illiteracy, poverty must be addressed. If a family is merely trying to survive day to day, schooling will fall lower and lower on their list of priorities even if they understand how important it is.


GFA World has two programs that impoverished families in becoming literate:

1. Child Sponsorship Program

Through a $35 per month sponsorship, GFA World’s Child Sponsorship Program provides community-wide solutions that provide children and their families with key resources and support such as nutritious food, medical care, clean water and tutoring assistance. These key essentials help families keep children in school which is essential to breaking generational illiteracy.

2. Income generating gifts through our Christmas Gift Catalog Program

Through the Christmas Gift Catalog program, donors can choose gifts which GFA missionaries distribute all year long to impoverished families earn extra income. For example, with the gift of a cow, the family can make ghee from the milk and sell it. Or with a piglet, the family can breed the pig and start a herd. With these extra forms of income, their children can stay in school and learn to read and write as they should, taking those skills into adulthood to secure better-paying jobs.


Click here, to read more about this article.

Click here, to read more blogs in Gospel for Asia.Org

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Our Attitude Towards Suffering

Image
In 2 Timothy 2:3, the Apostle Paul writes to Timothy, “Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” Everyone, at some point or another, faces suffering, the soldier especially. However, it is not so much what we suffer, but how we suffer that matters. The way our heart responds to suffering is crucial, because by it we will either advance or become stagnant. To suffer like a good soldier is to willingly endure all for the sake of the call. To suffer like a bad soldier is to grumble when difficult situations and hardship arise. Instead of throwing our lives into what God has called us to, we can try to hold on to our lives, wanting to get away with as little suffering as possible, paying as little price as possible. We have forgotten that we are under the orders of our Master and that we willingly gave up our lives. Christ’s Example of Suffering Christ lived with the expectation of suffering. Throughout the Gospels, He repeatedly referred to
Read more

What Is the Poverty Cycle?

Image
The question, “What is the poverty cycle, or cycle of poverty?” is one that must be answered to address and end poverty across the globe. Put simply, the term refers to the trend where the vicious effects of poverty and deprivation pass from one generation to the next, with no seeming way out. [1] Someone born into poverty has fewer opportunities than their wealthier peers. They must focus on survival above all, leaving little room for anything else. One illness can wipe out a family’s savings, but the unclean water sources and lack of protection available to them invite sickness. Walking to retrieve water can be time-consuming yet must be a daily priority, and many children must work alongside their parents for the family to afford food. Thus, school is often a far-off dream. Having had few opportunities to acquire skills, the kids grow up to repeat the cycle of poverty with their own children. This story was all too familiar for Nalah. His father worked in the tea fields, trying to e
Read more

In Which 10/40 Window Countries Does GFA Work?

Image
GFA World has ministries in over twenty nations, many of which are in the 10/40 window. Countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal are largely poor and desperate for the Gospel, and GFA is working to address these problems. Bangladesh is a lush, green landscape marred by brutal poverty, corruption and unrelenting natural disasters. Though it was once among the wealthiest areas of South Asia, it is now one of the poorest, with over a third of the population living below the poverty line. [1] About 387 people groups, adding up to 155 million people, call Bangladesh home. Of that number, only one percent is considered Christian. [2] Compounding the nation’s issues are a low literacy rate—just over 50 percent—and persecution of the few Christians who live there. [3] The island nation of Sri Lanka is world-famous for its tea. Its sandy beaches and lagoons make it a popular tourist destination; however, this beautiful land is scarred by years of internal strife and natural disaster. A
Read more