Being illiterate was like being blind. Now I feel like I have come out of the darkness and into the light!
Being able to read and write is something many of us take for granted. But the joy expressed by this 56-year-old woman who learnt to read through a Pakistan Bible Society literacy class says it all: for someone who has never had the opportunity of an education, literacy opens the door to a whole new world. It’s about dignity, independence and wholeness. And yet so many people – one fifth of humanity – are deprived of the basic human right of literacy (see the infographic below.)
We believe that everyone should have the chance to learn to read and write and to enjoy ‘life in all its fulness’, which Jesus offers. And we know that reading the Bible can transform lives. That’s why we are running hundreds of literacy classes for hundreds of thousands of people across the world.
Our work has been officially recognised by UNESCO, with whom we are in consultative partnership. And we are expanding our plans: by 2015, we hope to carry out literacy projects in 50 languages spoken by more than one million people. Around half a million people will directly benefit from these projects. Please pray for our literacy work.
To find out more about our global literacy work, contact Julian Sundersingh: jsundersingh@biblesocieties.org
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