September is Rotary’s Basic Education and Literacy Month, and it gives us an opportunity to think about something we sometimes take for granted: the extraordinary power of being able to read, learn, understand, and communicate.
Literacy is about much more than words on a page.
It is the ability to fill out a job application. To understand a prescription. To help a child with homework. To navigate a website, manage a bank account, read a ballot, understand a contract, or confidently participate in your community.
Education opens doors. Literacy gives people the ability to walk through them.
That is why Basic Education and Literacy remains one of Rotary’s Areas of Focus. Around the world, Rotarians support schools, provide books and technology, train teachers, establish libraries, fund scholarships, mentor students, and create opportunities for people who might otherwise be left behind.
But this work is not limited to projects thousands of miles away.
There are needs right here in our own communities.
Throughout District 5030, there are young people who need mentors, families struggling to access educational resources, students who need encouragement, adults working to improve their skills, and schools and community organizations looking for partners.
That is where Rotary can be especially powerful.
We have something few organizations possess: an extraordinary network of people from virtually every profession and walk of life who are willing to share their knowledge, relationships, experience, and time.
Sometimes the most impactful literacy project begins with books.
Sometimes it begins with a scholarship.
Sometimes it begins with a Rotarian sitting across the table from a young person and saying, “I believe you can do this.”
As we begin September, I encourage every club in District 5030 to consider one simple question:
What door could we help open?
Perhaps your club already has an education or literacy project that deserves greater visibility. Tell its story. Share photographs. Let other clubs learn from what you are doing.
Perhaps another organization in your community is already doing excellent work and simply needs a partner.
Or perhaps there is an idea that has been discussed for years but has never quite moved forward.
This might be the month to start.
One of Rotary’s greatest strengths is that we do not have to solve enormous problems all at once. We bring people together, identify a need, and begin.
One student.
One classroom.
One scholarship.
One mentor.
One opportunity.
And sometimes that single opportunity changes the direction of an entire life.
That is the power of education.
And that is the power of Rotary.
Chris Nakea
Editor, The Pulse
