Poverty, illiteracy still linked

May 08, 2007 01:24 PM
Anita Li

“It must be hard not being literate,” said University of Toronto student Raymond Wu. “I guess it’s a lack of imagination, but I can’t picture not being able to read [after] having grown up in a society where…there’s written [forms of] communication everywhere you go.”

Fortunately, as Special Events Coordinator for the University of Toronto’s English Students’ Union (ESU), Wu is able to promote literacy by organizing events in support of the non-profit organization, World Literacy of Canada (WLC). Through fundraising events, the ESU raises funds for the organization, and therefore increase awareness on world literacy issues.
According to UNESCO’s Institute for Statistics website, in 2002 approximately 20% of the world’s adult population (age 15 and over) failed to meet the traditional definition of literacy, which is the ability to “read and write, with understanding, a short simple sentences about one’s everyday life.”

In developing countries, in particular, illiteracy continues to persist. Wu suggests that the level of poverty is so great in such countries that oftentimes other priorities override the need for literacy. He states that if basic necessities such as food prove deficient, “no one would worry about knowing how to read.”

It is for this reason that WLC’s initiatives, according to their website, include not only “development education programs [that] serve to educate Canadians about the global illiteracy problem,” but also literacy and development initiatives overseas. Wu believes that promoting literacy abroad will provide many people in developing countries with the opportunity to lead better lives, as literacy is a requirement for many jobs.

But for Wu, even more valuable than the employment opportunities that literacy provides, is the personal satisfaction that he gets from picking up a book and enjoying a good read.

Anita Li is a second-year International Relations and Asia-Pacific Studies student at the University of Toronto. As a member of the G8 Research Group and Five Minutes to Midnight, she is actively involved in human rights initiatives as well as issues of global governance.

Free The Children is the largest network of children helping children through education in the world, with more than one million youth involved in our innovative education and development programs in 45 countries. Founded by international child rights activist Craig Kielburger, Free The Children has an established track-record of success, with three nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize and partnerships with the United Nations and Oprah’s Angel Network.