According to the CIA World Factbook, the 2015 estimated global literacy rate is 86.1%. Upon first hearing that, it doesn’t sound so bad. Here in the US, that’s a solid B grade in school—perfectly passable. But if you zoom in on that number and realize that 13.9% of the world is still illiterate largely because of poor access to education, it becomes a little more humbling.
One in seven people on this earth cannot read or write. Take that in for a second. Over 781 million people, which is not a number you or I can stare at and comprehend, are incapable of looking at a simple sentence and having any idea what it says. Naturally, this limits them. They cannot apply for a job that requires them to read even their job description. They cannot fill out paperwork for a loan if they want to start a business. They cannot correspond with anyone by internet or written letter.
Now, we have to recognize that not every illiterate person wants to learn to read and write. Some of them are very content in their isolated cultures with rich oral traditions. But the fact remains that this seventh of the world’s population does not even have the opportunity to become literate, and many of them desperately want it.
Standards for defining “literacy” are loose, and differ around the world, but it’s very common for literacy to be defined as being able to write a short, simple sentence. So if you can string a subject, verb, and object together on a piece of paper, you’re literate. This means that a good chunk of “literate” adults may not be able to do more than fill out their information on a job application, which isn’t exactly empowerment.
We’re tackling literacy education in Ghana first, where the literacy rate is 76.6% (meaning that Ghana is actually bringing down the world average). We’re building a literacy center in a rural village where many illiterate cocoa farmers desperately want more options for their children.
Awesomeness will not.
We are leaving for Ghana on October 30th and will be there working on the literacy center through June of next year. We recognize that many of the people who identify with this cause are poor (like us!) and cannot make generous one-time gifts to the project. That’s why we’re starting this campaign, where we are asking for monthly donations starting now, with a pledge to give through June. Those who give at least $20 per month this way will receive one of these hand-painted t-shirts as our thank you gift (through October 29th). You can go here to donate.
Numbers like 86.1% are tools to understand a problem—not really reasons to act. A reason to act might be a boy named Kwabena who wants to represent small villages like his as an attorney when he grows up, if he only had access to a library to practice reading. It might be a girl named Rejoice who can only write her application essay to a university if someone steps in and offers her classes in English. It might be an elder named Kwame who wants to write down the stories his grandmother told him for his own grandchildren to read and pass on.
When you empower people with education, the possibilities are limitless.
Raise the number with us.
