According to me, literacy is the most important thing in life after family and compassion. In general, literacy is the ability to read and write in any understood language. On World Literacy Day, we spread awareness about the importance of literacy. Since 1967, it has been celebrated on September 8 every year.

There are millions of people around the globe mostly women who live without literacy. Many children live without education and do not go to school as well. UNESCO reported that South Asia consisting of Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and other countries has the lowest adult literacy rate. So therefore what can we do to increase the literacy rate of our country?

First of all, we need to support adult education. Children need to attend school and college until the age of 18 and complete their studies. Next we need to encourage children to read or write small articles from the age of 5 or 6. That will always help to increase their literacy skills and will make them write more effectively in the future.

We can donate books to local classrooms, orphanages and libraries to increase literacy in our neighborhood. Children need their set of books changed in about 3 or 4 months so that they can learn many new things in a short period of time and also because they would not get bored and consider reading as a passion or a hobby. Gift factual and general knowledge books so that children get curious about the world. Give them access and teach them to use several educational websites where they get their skills and creativity improved and praised by others which will urge them to make more work.

Reading skills are very important in our day-to-day life. Think about it. It’s not only used for reading books and articles like this one but chatting on the phone, reading signs and labels, finding instructions to something and even to read a map. We need to read to know what is happening around us.

Writing is needed a lot as well. Even when googling something we need our writing skills to frame the question. In recent days people easily text their friends using their writing skills and often find new words to send a long message in short form. It also enhances our communication skills and we learn to frame sentences and paragraphs in lots of different ways.

This year’s World Literacy Day theme is “Literacy for a human centered recovery, narrowing the digital divide.” We have to try in all the possible ways to impart education to children in the rural areas of the world. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic many children suffer without mobile phones and laptops. And they have not been attending school for over two years. They are slowly moving into a world without literacy which will greatly affect the next generation.

Literacy is the golden weapon that provides empowerment and independent thinking to individuals. So never say NO to literacy.