Thousands Learn to Read and Write

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NOVEMBER 1, 2012 | GLOBAL NEWS

Thousands Learn to Read and Write

In 2011, Jehovah’s Witnesses helped more than 5,700 people to become literate.

Full story HERE !

[JSellenger]

This is nice. I have a bible study that recently asked what JW's do to help others besides preach. I knew we help with disaster relief, but never thought about this. Thanks for sharing, its a good reminder. I am in the U.S. but I remember when I was a teenager one of my friends taught a woman to read and she came in the truth.

[tucker]

There is a sign in Denver, Co. which says that 51% of high school grads in Denver are illiterate. What a glowing tribute to the public education system! (sarcasm intended) The kids must take a lot of the blame, also their parents. Jehovah's witnesses, parents as well as children, appreciate the need to read well. How else can we teach others? Witness children read and comprehend well above their peers because we know we must read well. Some of our students have not had the opportunity to learn to read, others read so poorly as to be functionally illiterate. We all have to be able to teach our students whatever they need to become fellow servants of our Great God Jehovah. This is truly part of our community service. We don't build hospitals or libraries or other facilities, but our work does benefit our communities in many ways. We make individuals better citizens one at a time.

[retroHelen]

A few of the older ones in our congregation learned to read and write with some in the congregation when they came into the Truth. Schooling wasn't seen as necessary years ago when most left school at 15, before examination year at 16 - before it was compulsory.Unlike today, there were plenty of jobs then, so they went straight down the mines or into farming like their families had done for centuries before them. Into work where they thought they did not need literacy just stamina strength and passed down skills taught by watching and copying.

So the figure will be far more for folks like them, but not officially counted or reported from Europe.

[razor297]

I remember seeing in a Watchtower years back a picture of Bro. John Cutforth, pointing to a blackboard with his long stick as he was teaching some Papua and New Guinea natives how to read and write. My congregation has a husband and wife special pioneer couple, ex Papua and New Guinea Bethel members

and they told me how it is quite common to have to teach those people how to read and write. After all how can they as publishers be able to help others if they can not read.

Jehovahs' people are being educated,including learning to read and write, by the greatest teacher in the universe through His visible organisation. Yes thousands world wide have benefited from this,[ along with learning to praise Jehovah the Sovereign Lord at the same time ] through this teaching program.

May many more avail themselves of this schooling/education program, bringing praise to Jehovah in doing, so and then bring benefits in their lives that they might not have had access to.

What a marvelous provision from our Great God.