The girl who couldn’t read.

Eric sitting beside a statue of the girl who couldn't read.

Illiteracy is a terrible thing.  Many, especially young people, do not appreciate the value of being able to read and write.  Then there are those that, for whatever reason, never learned to read and write even though they are adults.  Canada boasts a literacy rate of 99%, which is a testament to how much we value the written word.  Canada is also a first world country, one of the G7, and considered by many as the best place on the planet to live.  It is not coincidental that all these facts coincide. 

Being literate means being able to acquire information from a variety of sources.  It increases one’s ability to think and explore alternatives.  It is a skill set as valuable to an individual as nails, screws, and glue are to a woodworker.  Think of the careers which are unavailable to an illiterate person.  The general population in many third world countries cannot read or write.  As a result, that same group will not likely ever rise out of poverty and will destine their own children to a similar fate.  

The above photo represents a young girl who wants to read, but cannot.  The bronze statue has been vandalized; the book in the young lady’s lap has been stolen.  When I first saw her, I wondered what it was that she was doing.  A quick observation led me to the conclusion that she had been robbed.  With no opportunity to develop her reading, how would she ever utilize her potential?  Doomed to a static existence; literacy unrealized and underdeveloped, she represents much of the world.  They would read if they had the resources and the time.  Fate would give them neither.

The thing about fate is that it is often made by one’s situation.  Children are the adults of tomorrow.  Instead of fostering their abilities and teaching them basics like literacy, they are enslaved in work environments meant to empower others.  Child labour, subsistence farming, begging or even stealing to appease the aggression of overlords, their fate is sealed.  A book, a gentle touch, and some time could make all the difference in the world.

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