EACH ONE TEACH ONE by gaurav dubey

About 35% of India's population is illiterate, that is, unable to read and write. These people face innumerable hardships and difficulties because of their illiteracy. Dishonest people take undue advantage of them, and they are insecure and dependent on others when it comes to the written word, because they cannot even write their names, leave alone signing a paper or document. They cannot even perform simple tasks such as reading the newspaper or someone's letter. Many of them remain unemployed.

These people are really unfortunate, and till we get rid of this problem of illiteracy, our nation will not prosper. But educating such a large number of people, most of whom are poor, is a stupendous task. The government cannot do it on its own. Therefore we, the literate ones, should do something to help these people. But what can we do?

If each one of us teaches atleast one illiterate person, all of them will be able to read and write within a few months. And teaching just one person is not very difficult or time consuming.

We need to devote just a little bit of our time for doing this noble work. We will get a lot of satisfaction from this task. The newly literate person will then be able to read books, newspapers and letters, and sign his name. He will be able to manage transactions with banks and post offices. This will make him independent and confident. It will help him to lead a better life, and even secure suitable employment.

So, let us each start teaching at least one illiterate person. We can start from our own homes or in our neighbourhoods. Schools and colleges can organise literacy camps during the vacations, and encourage their students to teach the poor illiterate people who live in the locality. Newspapers, radio and TV should hold discussions on the topic, and NGOs too must join in and help wherever possible. Unless a determined effort is made, there will be no progress.

Instead of expecting the government to do all these things, if we take the initiative and do it ourselves,India will progress very fast,and we will be happy that we have contributed to its progress. The satisfaction we get from this will be our reward.