Imagine not being able to read. Imagine looking at words on a page and seeing gibberish. Imagine never being able to lose yourself in a story or find the answers to your questions in a book. Imagine not being able to fill out a job application or read a map.
According to the International Reading Association, “The World’s Leading Organization of Literacy Professionals”:
More than 780 million of the world’s adults (nearly two-thirds of whom are women) do not know how to read or write, and between 94 and 115 million children lack access to education.
As an author, obviously I depend on people being able to read in order to buy and enjoy my books. But that is minor compared to my desire for everyone to experience the joy of reading that I have been blessed with for as long as I can remember.
If you are passionate about literacy as I am, read more posts submitted to Bloggers Unite for International Literacy Day or contribute to solving the illiteracy problem by following some of the suggestions below:
- Learn about the importance of literacy.
- Donate used books to a local literacy organization.
- Volunteer in a literacy program, a school, a library, or other organization that promotes literacy.
- Donate books you have written or books by a favorite author to an international literacy agency.
- Spread the word about literacy.
photo credit: David Salafia