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Spread of Illiteracy: Not Just For Third World Countries AnymoreIf illiteracy was a live person, it would be a sleeping giant in the United States. The spread of illiteracy around the globe shows that it is not just a third world problem, any longer. With all of its wealth and influence, the United States still finds itself with its own headache of illiteracy to deal with.
President Lyndon Johnson had his War On Poverty, embedded within his overall Great Society initiative, where his goal was to have every single citizen of the United States get an education, and every single one of them was also to be lifted above the poverty line. Some right wing critics, including the religious right, called his a socialist concept, just like some likewise did with President Franklin D. Roosevelt with his New Deal programs.
World War II stopped Roosevelt and Viet Nam stopped Johnson from accomplishing their goals. What is stopping you and me? For the spread of illiteracy keeps moving.
But, the United States has resources, many third world countries do not.
Not only Walkerville - that is to say, Liberia - but other African countries are beginning to understand the plight of its illiterate population and are seeking fixes at every turn.
Case in point, I am not the only native born Liberian who seeks to halt the suffering caused by illiteracy there. Like me, this lady became an American citizen after having obtained her schooling in Liberia. And, like me, she also has a website dedicated to help the Liberian children and slow the
spread of illiteracy
throughout Liberia.
Then there is the African nation of Botswana, for instance. It is blessed because it already has schools for its children. Now, with the addition of a library in at least one of them, children there can dream of growing up to be, let's say, doctors, as one little girl tells in this, her Cinderella story.
The video is taken from their
African Library Project
website.
Did you know there were no libraries at all in Liberia when we started our charity in 2010?
Did you also know that there is another charity (not related to ours) that accepts donated books directly? It is called,
Books For Africa
. If you have any books laying around the house that you wish to donate, then examine their site to see how you can do that.
After you donate to us (hint! hint!) on our
Walkerville Gift Donations Page
, then while at their site, and if you also decide to donate to them, then we (Juanita & Landis) would appreciate it if you would go to their
donation page
, scroll down and click on Liberia. We are sure that Books for Africa - Liberia would appreciate it. On March 31, 2011, both of us, Juanita & Landis, actually met the founders of a somewhat similar non-profit organization as ours. Similar, in that both of our websites deal with educating children in Africa. On that day, these two dynamic young ladies discussed their fascinating mission, which according to their website
http://pencils4ghana.org
, is to help alleviate the educational disparities that plague the children of Ghana, West Africa (which is very, very, close to Liberia) by providing them with educational tools and resources.
You can see the story of what they are doing in this video:
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