There is a poster that hangs in the hallway of the School where I volunteer. In the mornings before I meet my first learner for one of our reading sessions, I stop for a moment to read it:

“Education is the most powerful weapon
which you can use to change the world.”
– Nelson Mandela

I’m thinking about that today, on International Literacy Day. According to The International Reading Association, it is estimated that, “860 million of the world’s adults do not know how to read or write, and that more than 100 million Children Lack Access to education”. That’s right:

“…more than 100 million children lack access to education.”

I think about the learners I work with twice a week to help them with their struggling English. And I think about my own access to education and knowledge, their availability in my life and how I can take them for granted sometimes.

Taking education for granted is not an option for the kids I mentor. They have already overcome so many obstacles to literacy by their young ages of 8 to 13. They are lucky enough to be in a school with good facilities, but I worry for them that there is limited opportunity for it to be reinforced.

They may not have books at home or access to many educational materials outside of school. Many parents across South Africa are illiterate, especially so in English which most likely is not their native language. There are countless schools here without a school library, not to mention enough books in each classroom.

Literacy allows us to communicate with and relate to others. I would never have learned about my students’ lives and cultures without it. And without literacy they will never have the powerful weapon of education to change their world.

Through literacy we gain knowledge. Knowledge is power. Use it. Share it.