Did you know that one in five people in the world are illiterate? illiteracy is the inability to read or write. I never really thought about teenagers and adults being illiterate until recently. A women in our church recently told us her testimony about her life and how she found christ and she mentioned that she has been illiterate for a long time and was barely learning to read and write. I was surprised because I used to always assume that everyone over the age of seven could read. This got me very interested so I decided to do some research on this topic. I don't know how much you read on a monthly basis but I usually read two or three books a month. Reading is part of my daily routine and is also apart of yours. Since you have been able to read up to this point then you are probably not illiterate. We read signs, instructions and we read when we are on the internet. Sometimes we don't even notice how much we read every day.
In the U.S. over 93 million people have basic or below basic literacy skills and and in West Africa there are only 21.8 percent of adults that are literate. Being illiterate is an enormous obstacle for people. Illiteracy can lead to unemployment because if people can't read then how are they going to fill out job applications? and if they don't have a job then they can't make enough money to support themselves or their families. People are also unable to read medical prescriptions so how are they going to know what to do to be healthy? This is why income in countries with a literacy rate less than 55 percent averages about $600. Illiteracy usually occurs with poor people because they can't afford an education. I am fourchunant to live in america where I can get a good education but in most countries it is not like that. The saddest part is that some babies are denied the chance to learn to read and write from the moment they are born just because their parents were not able to get an education and cant teach them what they were never taught. Illiteracy continues in a vicious cycle. the women from my church was a real inspiration to me because she didn't let her illiteracy stop her and she came to america so that her kids could have a brighter future. She sometimes goes up during testimony and reads something from the bible and she admits that it has been hard for her but she says she will never give up. Being able to read and write is an amazing skill that we should never take for granted. When we read we are transported to another world and when we write you can lose yourself in your writing. As Dr. Seuss once wrote, “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”