A Public, Tragic Secret

December 23, 2018 By GFA Staff Writer

It’s fairly well known that in many parts of the world, women are second-class citizens. “Second class” might be a bit generous, considering the shocking treatment so many women face. When a woman has the unfortunate experience of becoming widowed, her standing may plummet further without anyone to help or even care. And she may live that way for the rest of her days.

This is reality for widows in some developing countries. It’s inescapable unless someone steps in to speak out on their behalf, offer assistance and help them find their way back into life again.

God loves and cherishes every person equally. No one has an extra share of that love, especially not because of their sex, social standing or where they happened to be born. As for us, Mark 12:31 says clearly that we are commanded by God to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, and there is no greater commandment.

If only the most vulnerable of women, those who have lost their husbands, could experience the same in their family and community.

Inheritance is a Right for Some, a Myth for Others

“Remember, God commanded us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.”

When a woman’s husband dies, life permanently changes. She is without her partner. If she is older or has no children, she is alone. Fortunately, inheritance laws in many countries protect her to a certain extent. Depending on where she lives and whether or not her husband left a valid will, she may inherit all or a legislated portion of her deceased husband’s estate.

Every state in America has established some type of spousal-inheritance protection for both men and women. Those protections vary, and they’re quite complicated. But the meaning is clear: Just because a husband or wife didn’t leave a will or get around to writing their spouse into a will doesn’t mean the spouse will inherit nothing. In parts of Asia and certain developing countries, that is not the case.

In Nigeria, there is no pretense of support or inheritance after a woman’s husband dies. She is, according to The Africa Report, essentially the property of her husband. As property, she has no right to inherit anything upon his death.

How should these forgotten women survive? Tragically, many of them have no one to turn to for help.

Where There’s No Will, There’s No Way

One of the prevailing threads that run through the fabric of widow inheritance is the existence, or not, of a will. Legislation may plainly state how and how much a widow may inherit from her deceased spouse. With an existing will, she still has little chance of inheriting.

It doesn’t matter how clearly a will was written or who affirmed it. Tradition, not law, tends to govern who receives property. And tradition holds that male heirs take all, especially the eldest male heir.

It doesn’t help that many countries have laws that further restrict equality, inheritance and property ownership rights for women. A 2016 report by The World Bank explains that 155 of the 173 economies studied impose restrictions on women that don’t exist for men.

Without a valid will or testamentary document in place, a widow may be fully without hope. It doesn’t appear to matter what a court has held in the past or what legislation demands. If she’s lucky, her family will take her in (after first taking away her property). But even then, her life may become one of servitude. That’s true, regardless of whether she is a young woman or if she’s elderly and in poor health. Too often, elderly women face the most abuse at the hands of their adult children or extended family.

Life is already difficult when a spouse dies. Imagine, if you can, having life transformed in such a way that rights cease to exist, and the most basic necessities of life must come from a person kind enough to care.

Now imagine being blamed for all of it.

In Some Cultures, Women are Accused of Their Husband’s Death

What might happen in the United States if, on a man’s deathbed, his doctor turned and told his widow that she was to blame? There would be outrage, for certain. The doctor would probably face at least some sort of disciplinary action. Even so, this scenario isn’t as far-fetched at it seems.

Right now, husbands around the world are working in fields, in factories and in any number of jobs. Wives may have their own jobs, or they may be devoted solely to keeping the home and raising the children. Before the day is finished, one of these men may suffer a tragic accident or suddenly fall ill. Maybe he will never come home again. Or maybe he will return, only to die at home later. In parts of Asia, this scenario usually has one ending:

His wife is viewed as the cause of his death, no matter how or why it happened.

It’s difficult to believe, but it’s true. Certain religious traditions, cultures and social norms have long held that any time a man dies, his wife is to blame. More specifically, her sins are the real cause.

Where women in the Western world may turn to family and friends for love and support, women in other parts of the world may be shunned. They can face harsh treatment. They may be stripped of rights and property for no other reason than a supposed curse or vengeance for their sins.

Some women of any age are forced to beg in the streets just to have something to eat. But even the small charities of passing strangers can’t be counted on; not even if she has small children who are also hungry. If a woman is shunned, people may pass her by in fear, outrage or a combination of both.

GFA Ministers to These Disenfranchised Women

“In the presence of God, they learn they are His precious children, no less worthy of kindness than any other person.”

Left to survive in a world that only shows hatred, fear and distrust at every turn, it’s no wonder that many widows feel hopeless. But remember, God commanded us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. That’s one of many reasons why Gospel for Asia (GFA) offers ongoing support for the precious few who are willing to help. Sisters of Compassion are some of those few.

These special women are trained in ministering to and helping the disenfranchised. They aren’t afraid to pour out love to widows who’ve been hurt, neglected and wronged. It’s part of God’s work, and they do it with compassion. Being women themselves, it’s easier for them to minister to those who need them most.

Women’s Fellowship groups also receive support from GFA. Their work includes a range of programs, such as organizing special events for women and the distribution of gifts of mosquito netting, sewing machines, small livestock and much more.

In the care of Godly women, widows find training that can help them earn income. That’s important for a woman living on her own, and even more so for a younger widow with children to provide for. They also find fellowship and support for when the burdens of life as a family and community outcast are too much to bear.

In the presence of God, they learn they are His precious children, no less worthy of kindness than any other person.

Image Source: Gospel for Asia, Photo of the Day

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Gospel for Asia: Widows Worldwide Face Tragedy, Discrimination (Part 3)

October 25, 2018 By GFA Staff Writer

Wills Point, Texas – Gospel for Asia (GFA) Special Report – Discussing widow’s plight worldwide as they face tragedy, discrimination, as well as the efforts and opportunities extended to them to give them hope.

Hope to Overcome the Challenges of Widowhood

International Women's Day (March 8) falls on the same day as GFA founder Dr. KP Yohannan's birthday - Gospel for Asia — International Women’s Day (March 8) falls on the same day as GFA founder Dr. KP Yohannan’s birthday, so it’s no wonder that he’s passionate about uplifting the lives of women around the world.

“For millions of widows in Asia, life is incredibly difficult,” says Dr. KP Yohannan, founder and director of GFA. “Many are forced into begging or prostitution to survive. There are 46 million widows on the streets and in slums. There are stories of thousands of widows committing suicide because they have no hope.”

Another widow whose story was featured in “Veil of Tears” faced rejection from her husband’s family after he died. Her nephews refused to give her food, forcing her to beg from passing strangers. Once, when she got sick and suffered from diarrhea for two days, no one would even approach her. Members of a GFA-supported Women’s Fellowship took her to the hospital for treatment, provided her food and found her a home. Most of all, they became a family.

Grassroots Aid

Such caring action demonstrates one way to address widows’ situation: at the grassroots level. This is what GFA does through initiatives such as sewing classes, providing sewing machines and training in skills like candle-making and basket-weaving. Much of this outreach is conducted by Sisters of Compassion (women who are specially trained to care for marginalized groups), leaders of Women’s Fellowship groups and pastors’ wives. As women, they are more readily received into women’s homes in the segregated society.

GFA-supported pastors and workers often help organize events to assist and encourage widows, too. For example, on or soon after last year’s International Widows Day, GFA-supported workers in many different regions distributed numerous sewing machines, goats, piglets, hygiene supplies, mosquito nets and other goods to help improve widows’ lives. They also offered encouragement and reminded them, “In the sight of God our Father, pure and blameless religion is helping the orphans and widows in their need” (see James 1:27).

That stirred reactions like one from Madhuri, a 35-year-old who is the only bread-earner for her children:

“I go house to house in search of work. The piglet I received from you, I will rear nicely and hope it will [provide] a great income for my family. I am very thankful to you.”

Damini, a widow with five children, said:

“I am very happy to get a piglet from the church. I never expected this type of help from the church, but I am lucky to receive the piglet.”

“In the sight of God our Father, pure and blameless religion is helping the orphans and widows in their need.” —James 1:27

In another area, a GFA-supported Women’s Fellowship gave sewing machines to 30 women.

“After my husband died, I was alone doing work in the tea garden and supporting my children,” said Upada, one of the recipients. “I am finding it so difficult to manage our family, but today I am so happy that the church has given me this gift. I believe that this sewing machine will greatly help our family.”

Another widow, Kanan, said, “After my husband’s death, there was no one to help me. I have three children and they are very small. The eldest child is going to school. I was finding life so difficult, but God took care of us and met our needs. … Through this sewing machine, I will try my best to earn money and support my children’s schooling and our family.”

When a church in another district gave 50 widows each a goat, it brought waves of gratitude. Lajita, a widow who received a goat, told of her husband dying four years earlier because of asthma:

“I have three children who are going to school. I worked as a daily laborer in others’ fields. Now, I will rear this goat at home, and she will produce milk. I hope my family’s condition will become better through this goat.”

Income-producing gifts like those found in GFA's Christmas Gift Catalog - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — Income-producing gifts like those found in GFA’s Christmas Gift Catalog are game changers for widows in need.

Baijanti added, “My husband passed away some eight years ago. I stay with my children. We have no income-generating source, and this goat is going to be a great help for my living.”

An event in Nepal for International Women’s Day in 2017 prompted similar reactions. Thirteen churches organized a women’s conference, during which they provided pressure cookers to 60 widows.

A guest speaker, who had been a widow since age 15, distributed the gifts and encouraged participants:

“Being a widow, it is hard to be alone and at home in the society. Today, many widows are abused by the family and the society. Therefore, I came forward to raise my voice and help them.”

Widow’s Challenges in America

Even in the United States, widows don’t get a pass on life’s challenges. After Artis Henderson’s husband, Miles, died in November 2006 when his Apache helicopter crashed in Iraq, she spent the first year overwhelmed by grief. Without experiencing this kind of sudden tragedy, it’s hard for someone to know how difficult it is to cope when “everything in the world shifts,” she told CNN.

Artis Henderson and her late husband, Miles - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — Artis Henderson and her late husband, Miles
(Photo credit Artis Henderson via CNN.com)

“I always remember so clearly, this woman—another widow who was a little further, maybe six months ahead of me in the process—saying to me, ‘You will be disappointed to find out what happens after the first year,'” Henderson said. “And I remember saying, ‘Well, what happens?’ And she said, ‘There’s another year.'”

Other widows report similar grief. At age 59, Ginny McKinney was out shopping with her husband, Dan, for a travel trailer for early retirement when he suddenly dropped dead from a heart attack at age 62.

“I took off for three months, driving a circle around Colorado,” McKinney told the New York Times. “I went to places in the wilderness and on the top of mountains, where I could stand outside and scream at the sky, and scream at God for taking my man. And scream at him for leaving me.”

If the grief isn’t enough, what elderly widows may discover later can also inflict pain. In early 2018, an audit report from the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) inspector general’s office found the agency had underpaid nearly $132 million to more than 9,200 widows and widowers age 70 or older.

The issue stemmed from a budget bill in 2015, when Congress curtailed a strategy where one spouse could suspend a monthly benefit to allow the other spouse’s benefits to increase as long as the second delayed drawing theirs. However, it still allows a widow to claim survivor benefits and delay applying for her own. The SSA failed to inform widows and widowers to consider this option. The inspector general identified 13,555 people who were entitled to claim such benefits; a random sample showed that 82 percent could have drawn a higher monthly benefit if they claimed survivor benefits and held off drawing their own retirement.

“I went to places in the wilderness and on the top of mountains, where I could stand outside and scream at the sky, and scream at God for taking my man. And scream at him for leaving me.”

However, the situation for widows in other parts of the world remains even more dire. For example, in a 2015 story, the India Times reported the majority of Indian widows are deprived of their inheritance rights, especially if they are childless or have only daughters. This happens despite a 1969 law that made women eligible to inherit equally with men.

Among other problems, widows in Asia may face:

Prohibition of remarriage
Being forced to follow certain mourning rites
Becoming victims of violence, much of it stemming from common accusations that they caused their husband’s death
Economic hardships

Sharing Hope

Given this situation, Yohannan also believes the ultimate answer will be found from more women, regardless of where they live, learning who they are in Christ and what God thinks about them as individuals. Widows like Gulika have found hope when they learned that God treasures them.

However, Yohannan emphasizes the importance for Christ followers to provide practical assistance for widows and their children.

“God judged Israel because they did not care for the poor and suffering,” Yohannan says. “The Body of Christ is responsible to care for them. We must do everything we can to alleviate suffering and do whatever it takes to help people who are forsaken in their own communities.”

Obeying God’s command to take care of widows, GFA supports workers dedicated to ministering to widows all across Asia.

In 2017, GFA helped provided free health care training to 289,033 women, taught 50,624 illiterate women how to read and write, provided vocational training to 10,965 women desperately in need of a job, and gave out 8,763 sewing machines to vocational graduates, many of whom are widows struggling to survive. So, while widows worldwide face tragedy and discrimination, some are finding hope and a future through help from organizations like Gospel for Asia.

To conclude on a positive note, here is a letter written by Dr. KP Yohannan to friends and donors of GFA about one widow’s journey from despair to joy:

When Kaavya’s husband died as a result of his alcohol addiction, she had to work hard as a daily wage laborer to feed her six children and look after her household. No one helped her because she lived in a society where people believed it is the wife’s fault if her husband dies before she does—regardless of the circumstances. In essence, she and her children were abandoned.

Kaavya and her children lived in a small, old hut, and life was a constant struggle for survival…

Read the rest of the letter from KP Yohannan

Widows Worldwide Face Tragedy, Discrimination: Part 1 | Part 2

This article originally appeared on gfa.org

To read more on Patheos on widow’s plight worldwide, go here.

Turned Away at Heaven’s Door – Gospel for Asia Missionaries See Woman’s Reality Changed

August 17, 2020 By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World and affiliates like Gospel for Asia Canada) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan – Discussing Laija and her search for peace, and the Gospel for Asia women missionaries who shared friendship and the grace and love of Jesus.

Laija awoke with a start, confused by the strange events in her dream. Why had she been refused passage through the door that led other people to a better place? Her mind kept going back to what the man at the door had told her: “This is not for everyone, but only for a selected few.”

Woman Lives Without Peace

Laija faithfully worshiped her family’s gods and delighted to participate in the religious ceremonies, yet her life was devoid of peace. She and her husband raised seven children and watched several of them marry, but love did not reign in their home. Financial struggles created a tense atmosphere, and her family quarreled continually.

Laija had heard about Jesus’ life and had visited worship services led by Gospel for Asia (GFA) missionaries, but like most people in her community, Laija had little room in her heart for anything other than her own beliefs.

Discussing Laija and her search for peace, and the Gospel for Asia women missionaries who shared friendship and the grace and love of Jesus. — Laija (pictured) hungered to know Jesus the way her two missionary friends did, but she lacked the courage to embrace Him as her Savior.

Wife Befriends Beacons of Hope

Then one day, Laija met Vivaan and Abeyma, the Gospel for Asia (GFA) women missionaries ministering in her area. Laija heard again about the love of Jesus and the transformation He freely offers, but the seeds of faith still fell on the roadway of her heart and found no good soil in which to grow.

Laija’s friendship with the two missionaries did grow, however, and she soon confided in her new friends, explaining her family’s problems and the thoughts of her heart.

“I do not know who to believe,” she shared. “There is no peace in my life, and I am fed up with everything.”

Vivaan and Abeyma prayed for Laija and visited her often to share words of encouragement. Laija recognized the grace of Jesus being lived out in her two friends, and an earnest hunger to experience that same grace developed in her heart. The two women’s testimonies of God’s hand in their lives inspired Laija, but although she understood the goodness of the Lord, her dedication to the gods she had worshiped for all of her 47 years made Laija hesitant to embrace Jesus.

Dream Bewilders, Explanation Illuminates

Then Laija had a dream. In her dream, she saw a long line of people waiting to pass through a door. When she asked what was happening and why so many people were standing in a line, someone in her dream replied, “Everyone is getting ready to go to a cool and better place because it is becoming hotter here.”

“Oh, that is good,” Laija responded. “I also want to go there.”

But when Laija reached the door, a man stopped her and said, “This is not for everyone, but only for a selected few.”

She woke up, bewildered by her dream and the rejection she experienced in it.

The next day, Laija visited her missionary friends and told them about her strange dream. While Abeyma listened to Laija, she remembered Jesus teaching in Matthew 7 that only those who do the will of His Father will enter the kingdom of heaven.

Abeyma and Vivaan prayed for their friend and spoke into Laija’s life again by sharing passages from the Word of God. Gradually, Laija understood the meaning of her dream, and the many seeds that God had been sowing in her heart finally found good soil. She longed to know Jesus personally, so that day, she decided to follow Him.

Gospel for Asia founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: Laija grew in her knowledge of God while Abeyma and Vivaan shared from the Word of God, just as these women learn by reading their Bible. — Laija grew in her knowledge of God while Abeyma and Vivaan shared from the Word of God, just as these women learn by reading their Bible.

An overwhelming peace and joy immediately followed Laija’s decision to embrace Jesus as her Savior. But her husband quickly tried to squelch her new hope.

Faith Holds Fast Under Opposition

“At this age, how can you be so serious about [following a different god]?” he demanded. “I do not believe a single word about whatever you are telling me. The sooner you take back your words, the better. I do not want to hear nonsense.”

When Laija stood firm in her faith in Christ, her husband’s aggression reached beyond verbal abuse. He began hitting her frequently, and when he observed her praying before eating her meal, he would take away her food and taunt her, telling Laija to ask her Jesus to give her food. Even Laija’s children began mocking and disrespecting her.

Although her husband and children turned against her, Laija steadfastly clung to her hope in Christ. She knew Vivaan and Abeyma cared deeply for her, and she went to them often for comfort, prayer and encouragement.

“God gives me the strength,” Laija said, grateful for the prayer support of her friends.

Today, even in her difficult situation, Laija holds fast to her Prince of Peace, and she prays her family may one day also experience the joy she found in Christ.

Share Seeds of Faith

Laija grew in her knowledge of Christ while her missionary friends shared from the Bible. The Word of God is living and active, and still transforming lives.

Learn more about the Sisters of Compassion, specialized Gospel for Asia women missionaries, who have hearts that ache for hurting women and those deemed as poor and needy.

*Names of people and places may have been changed for privacy and security reasons. Images are Gospel for Asia stock photos used for representation purposes and are not the actual person/location, unless otherwise noted.

Source: Gospel for Asia Featured Article, A Dream: Turned Away at Heaven’s Door

Learn more how you can share the Word of God with the millions of people in Asia — either as complete Bibles or New Testaments — which will enable many to grow and learn more about Jesus.

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Literacy: A Great Miracle Cure for the Human Spirit (Illiteracy Post 1 by Gospel for Asia)

October 3, 2019 By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) issues an extensive Special Report on illiteracy, the dominant disabler to flourishing for millions around the world, and the miraculous potential of literacy that is able to change the lives of men, women and children for generations.

Resolving the Limitations Illiteracy Places on the Human Spirit

Few of us who have read all our lives understand the nearly miraculous potential of being able to read and write when illiteracy has been the dominant disabler to flourishing. Illiteracy is more dominant than poverty, more dominant than a chronic physical disability, and more dominant than even an oppressive social system.

We readers have long lost the joy of discovering that the squiggly marks on a page of paper can be interpreted or that the same kinds of marks can be learned and replicated with chalk, ink, pen or pencil. We don’t understand because we read and write and often take for granted the treacherous limitations illiteracy places on the human spirit as well as on human potential.

Perhaps one story from Gospel for Asia (GFA) will help us again remember the wonder of our own unrecognized reading and writing capacities. This is about Mandeepa.

This is Mandeepa. Her widowed mother was too poor to send her to school when she was younger, so she grew up illiterate. After she learned of God’s love as a teenager, she deeply desired to read God’s Word, but she couldn’t read or write.

Due to the early death of her father, Mandeepa and her five other siblings were raised by a struggling mother. None of these six children were able to attend school, and at the age of 13, Mandeepa started to work as a household maid to support her single parent. Eventually, as is frequently the case, a marriage was arranged for Mandeepa, which quickly produced a son and a daughter.

At the age of 16, Mandeepa started attending a local church where the young woman received a Bible of her own—but having never learned to read and write, she, of course, only saw strange markings on the page. Her heart was filled with a longing to read the words and to learn more about the Heavenly Father the book taught about, but this was impossible, and the young woman was disconsolate.

Mandeepa’s husband was also illiterate. Their daughter was fortunate to attend school, but her growing ability to read only pointed out the lack in her mother’s education. How Mandeepa wished she could help her daughter with her schoolwork. This parental lack only increased the woman’s desire to read and write like her children.

Then the Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported Women’s Fellowship at her church-initiated literacy learning classes.

Mandeepa was now 32 years old, and after a year of study, she could finally read the Bible she had received 16 long years before. One of the first things she did when this “great miracle cure” began to have effect on her, banishing the shame and frustration of ignorance caused by lack of education, was to memorize John 14:15: “If you love Me, keep my commandments.”

Gospel for Asia points out that there are more than 250 million women in Asia today who are illiterate. It’s impossible for them to help their children with schoolwork. In addition, the instructions on medicine bottles, road signs, notices from the government and legal papers are all indecipherable— and this in a society that is increasingly dependent upon the written word. Those who desire to read God’s Word can’t do so. Technology can’t be accessed unless a user is highly literate. One must be able to spell, to read commands, to type letters that form words if the digital world is to be accessed.

Illiteracy is more dominant than poverty,
more dominant than a chronic physical disability,
and more dominant than even an oppressive social system.

Illiteracy is a kind of intellectual limbo, and no matter how naturally intelligent a person might be, the very descriptor “illiterate” indicates inferior mental capability.

Worldwide, entire villages with increasing levels of literacy are making social and economic gains when even just a small percentage of the villagers learn to read and write. Much data (a preponderance of which is examined under the general category of education) gives good cause to make the assumption that learning to read and write is one of the “great miracle cures.”

UNESCO does a thorough job of establishing the difficulty of conducting evidence- based data gathering as to the specific impact of literacy on individuals and communities, but it makes a broad generalization by stating in one article, “The ‘multiplier effect’ of literacy empowers people, enables them to participate fully in society and contributes to improve livelihoods. Literacy is also a driver for sustainable development in that it enables greater participation in the labour market; improved child and family health and nutrition; reduces poverty and expands life opportunities.”

Asia: Manju is teaching several women how to read and write in a literacy class hosted in the women’s house in 2011. Illiteracy is often cured by an army of tutors like this. Opportunities to volunteer and serve to erase illiteracy, and spread the miracle of reading and writing, are numerous.

Why Is Literacy a Great Miracle Cure?

Hopefully, this article will inspire the reader about participating in some way in the joy of giving the gifts of reading and writing to other humans. The outcomes of such literacy initiatives are far beyond the investment of a few hours on the part of a tutor or of a volunteer week or some summer months overseas dedicated to literacy training and teaching. It is well worth considering teaching others how to read and write, or attending discussion groups at the local library where ESL (English as Second Language) learners are expanding their conversational skills, or volunteering with any of a multitude of organizations that welcome short-term teachers who are able to travel overseas. The opportunities for working literacy miracles are many and far-reaching.

Volunteering with NGOs (non-governmental organizations) overseas is, indeed, not only beneficial to individual learners who with literacy skills can obtain higher-paying jobs above menial labor and have the means to educate their own children, but also to whole villages and countries where the literacy aggregate continues to grow, or what has been referred to above as “the multiplier effect.”

250 million

women in Asia today are illiterate

All statistical evidence shows that one individual who is given reading and writing skills greatly improves his/her chances of success. Increasing literacy of individuals also greatly enhances the society in which those people live. A study conducted in Charleston, North Carolina, determined that “illiteracy is a multifaceted social equity and justice problem that results in less job opportunities and low income, often poverty.”

The reporting continues to explain that employers are often careful not to allow low-skilled workers to work more than 30 hours at minimum wage, because hours accrued above this level must provide workers with benefits and paid time off. This limit means poverty or near-poverty for a certain demographic of workers, which then sets in motion the need for community government to provide welfare assistance. The Trident Literary Association of Charleston, South Carolina, notes that food and medical assistance are often necessary when someone lives below the poverty line, especially if children are present:

“Letting our people live in poverty can cost the Charleston community over $15,000 for ONE adult for only ONE year. This does not count the cost of any children each adult may have. When over 86,000 adults in the tri-county area don’t have a high school diploma or a GED, the community could incur costs of up to $1.3 BILLION in public assistance to help those people survive.”

If this is true in a mostly literate community, how does illiteracy impact countries with large demographics of people who can neither read or write? The consensus across the data is that illiteracy interferes with the flourishing of citizens within a community.

The Literacy Foundation, located in Quebec, lists:

Specific negative incomes of illiteracy on both individuals and society. For individuals, the impacts include:

“A limited ability to obtain and understand essential information;
“An unemployment rate two to four times higher among those with little schooling compared to those with bachelor’s degrees;
“Lower income;
“Lower-quality jobs;
“Precarious financial position;
“Little value given to education and reading within the family, often leading to intergenerational transmission of illiteracy;
“Low self-esteem, which can lead to isolation;
“More workplace accidents, longer recovery times and more misuse of medications due to not understanding health care resources and procedures.”

And for a community whose citizens have a high illiteracy rate, societal impacts include:

“Since literacy is essential for individuals and states to be competitive in the new global knowledge economy, many positions remain vacant for lack of adequately trained personnel;
“The higher the proportion of adults with low literacy proficiency, the slower the overall long-term GDP growth rate is;
“Difficulty understanding societal issues lowers the level of community involvement and civic participation.”

Defining Literacy

Like many topics, the meaning of literacy has nuances: Someone might say they are illiterate about opera, meaning they are uninformed, uninterested or unexposed to this art form. The same implications could be attributed to a person who is “illiterate” about immigration. At its most elemental level, however, to be illiterate means that a person cannot read or write or can only decipher words in a minimal way. Literacy Advance says the definition is even more complex:

“Literacy is the ability to read, write, speak and listen, and use numeracy and technology, at a level that enables people to express and understand ideas and opinions, to make decisions and solve problems, to achieve their goals, and to participate fully in their community and in wider society.”

Illiteracy is most prevalent in developing countries. South Asian, Arab and Sub- Saharan African countries are regions with the highest illiteracy rates at about 40 to 50 percent. East Asia and Latin America have illiteracy rates in the 10–15 percent region, while developed countries have illiteracy rates of a few percent.

Within ethnically homogenous regions, literacy rates can vary widely from country or region to region. This often coincides with the region’s wealth or urbanization, though many factors play a role.

Odisha, India: Thirty-five ladies gather for a Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported women’s literacy class three days a week. The class takes place Monday through Wednesday. Once they achieve their goal in teaching these ladies how to read and write, the Sisters of Compassion will begin another Adult Literacy Class elsewhere in the neighborhood.

Literacy — One of the Great Miracle Cures: Part 2 | Part 3

This Special Report article originally appeared on GFA.org.

Learn more about the Women’s Literacy Program, and how you can help over 250 million women in Asia who are illiterate.

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