“The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.”  This quote may be a 100 years old, but it is still very relevant. Why are we using this today? Because September is Literacy Month and we wanted to send across a reminder to everyone on how important literacy and education is.

Why is literacy important? Literacy is critical to not only the economic development but also as individual and community well-being. A nation’s economy is enhanced when the literacy rates are growing. The first steps in creating jobs has a strong foundation in essential skills such as reading, writing, and working with technology.

Through the Anando and Anando Plus Programme of the Light of Life Trust, our sole focus is on providing education and skill, thereby making every individual literate. Literacy does not mean education alone. It means the ability to go through life without someone pinning you down. It is the ability to showcase your skill with confidence.

In rural India, the problem of school dropouts is plenty. Both boys and girls stop going to school owing to several factors – poverty being one of the primary reasons. With school dropouts increasing by the day we are constantly looking at a society which is going down on literacy.

That is where Light of Life Trust comes into the picture. Through its various programmes the aim is to break the generational cycle of poverty and get children to understand the need for education.

The increase in literacy can have a very favourable effect on society. People with higher literacy have more opportunities to pursue higher education and develop their skills and knowledge to seek better employment and earn higher salaries. Being literate helps people understand health concerns and better educate themselves when it comes to healthcare. For women, it’s a huge plus which leads to them being financially independent and stable. Overall for the society, the more literate a society the better the quality of life that can be maintained.

In this literary month, let’s aim to make a small difference by carrying out the responsibility of making one person literate or at least trying to make them aware.