USA (WRN/MNN) — Today is Black Friday in the U.S, but one group is looking forward to Giving Tuesday. It’s a global campaign encouraging charitable giving on Tuesday, December 3.
Around the world, 775 million people can’t read, and another 152 million children are set to follow in their footsteps because they aren’t attending school. You can help them avoid this fate with an education gift through World Renew.
According to the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), literacy “is an instrument of empowerment to improve one’s health, one’s income, and one’s relationship with the world.” The group aims to keep education a priority for national leaders and decision-makers, and measures the world’s progress in this area.
UNESCO’s 2012 report found that “progress toward universal primary education is stalling” and “many young people lack foundation skills.” In 2010, some 61 million school-age kids were not in a classroom. Around 200 million people, between the ages of 15- and 24-years-old, didn’t complete primary school.
That’s roughly equivalent to one out of every five people. Two-thirds of women in today’s world are illiterate. In addition, by the time they should be in grade 4, 250 million kids could still lack the knowledge needed to read and write.
There is a direct relationship between literacy and community development; where significant illiteracy exists, development is a much bigger challenge. World Renew faces these challenges head-on in many countries around the world.
They establish literacy groups and classes, which often bloom into savings and loan groups as participants’ skills advance. The ability to read opens doors to better jobs, improved livelihoods, and the Truth of Jesus Christ. Learn more about the program here.
Pray about your involvement in Giving Tuesday. Pray that World Renew will gain support through this campaign.
By clicking here, you can take part in World Renew’s #GivingTuesday campaign.
