Scholarship Essay Entry – Kathleen L.

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.”  Mahatma Gandhi gave us the key to freedom in these wise words; did we listen?  All too often we find ourselves wishing things could be different, reminiscing on how great things were in the good old days; how often do we actually stop to ask ourselves what it is that we would like to see changed?  Not to mention have the ambition to follow up our quarry with a plan of attack.

Knowledge.  Knowledge is a wonderful thing.  I grew up, like too many of those around me, whining about my teachers and feigning illness in hopes of skipping a day of classes.  Sheltered and secure I had no idea what a gift this jailhouse they called “school” really was.  Illiteracy – the condition of being unable to read or write – is an issue that is time and again swept under the rug.  Regardless, it remains a very real and pressing matter. According to UNESCO, in the world today there are about one billion illiterate adults.  This one billion makes up approximately 26 percent of the world’s adult population.

Books.  Books can serve as a small and simple beginning.  If there was a way to channel your old and unwanted books into the hands of an enthusiastic child, wouldn’t you do it?  Wouldn’t you clean out the back boxes in your storage room filled with storybooks and imaginative fairy tales if they could fall into those innocent and admiring hands that are the children of our world?  They are waiting.

One book, one child.  A nationwide book drive.  The unwanted and thrown aside can be turned into a magical outlet of escape.  It can start with a community, spread through the province, and be swept across the nation.  These books can be gathered from homes with children grown, families who want to support a cause, and even schools in the process of updating.  If I can get these books into the hands of those who need them, it is a step in the right direction.  If a child has a picture book fairytale to start with, maybe one day they can find themselves reading “To Kill a Mockingbird” in their spare time.  They deserve the opportunity to try.

Illiteracy is just one on the ever-growing list of problems to address in our world.  Be the change.  Pick something small – it doesn’t have to be a worldwide issue like starvation or racism – it can be as simple as to get the sad looking girl who sits in the third desk of the second row to smile.