Pledge your support against child labour.

If you are reading this,you must know you would have belong to a privileged percentage of world's population. You have been to school,learned to read and write,you have had time to play and nurture dreams for your future.However, there are more than 12.6 million children in India,with little hope for a happy childhood.Condemned to a life of labour,they never have chance to go to school or enjoy the company of their friends and family. These children can be found everywhere-in the "dhaba" near your office,sweeping in a neighbour's house,toiling in cotton fields exposed to hazardous chemicals and rolling "beedis" and "agarbattis"in factories.They are children who have lost the chance to study,lost the hope for a better life,lost a dream.

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-Source Save the Children India

Like us on Facebook

If you agree with our mission to spread literacy worldwide please become our friends and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/United-4-Literacyorg/563893630293412. Change will only come through ideas, an idea by itself may be just and aspiration, but an idea when put into action becomes an inspiration. Be a part of this inspiration and change!

United4Literacy Has a New Look!

United4Literacy now has a new website. We have created a new interactive website for our viewers to visit and keep up with our efforts to spread literacy. Please visit our website united4literacy.org. Also, follow our posts on Facebook and be our friends on Facebook to join the literacy chain.

Learning while advocating global issues!

Young Leader from 2012 reported that while working on local environmental issues they  developed several skills

Importance of Children

Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa had said, 

“"There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children."'
Children are important assets to a country. They are the future that leads a nation towards progress and development, if they are given the right of kind of nurturing ground. Conversely, every single child who is robbed off a happy childhood, is a question mark on what is the idea of development a country follows.
The Union Cabinet on April 18 approved the National Policy for Children, which will help guide implementation of programmes and schemes for children. The policy gives utmost priority to right to life, health and nutrition and also gives importance to development, education, protection and participation. Dr. Ishaprasad Bhagwat, National Health Manager, Save the Children, India appreciates approval of the policy but feels that while “in many areas, there will be the policy to look up to while drafting programmes. However, it will not be there for other areas.” 

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Please join us on facebook and like us! For regular updates please visit our facebook page
Spread the word, invite your friends. Let's discuss literacy!

Inspriational Undertakings

Our main focus at United4Literacy is not just to show literacy in need of reform, but also to show how literacy can be reformed. It is crucial to raise awareness and communicate with the general public worldwide just how important literacy is a people, society and nation. Among attempts to cure illietracy there are some undertakings which are truly inspirational and show that the people of India do care, they yearn to see a literate and shining India. The most successful newspaper in India, The Times of India implemented a "Teach India" goal which calls for support from general public volunteers to take a few hours and assist in teaching India.Another initiative taken by the government in fact is the Midday Meal program. This program provides a free midday meal for a child as long as they attend school. This results in less financial burden on family and the child being educated in the process. It is important to realize that change comes from ideas, ideas are aspirations, but if put into action, they are inspirations.

Illiteracy in India-In Requirement of Fundamental Reform

It was once said by a great leader that “Literacy is the bridge from misery to hope”. (Kofi Annan, 1997) But, for millions of children around the world this bridge is left broken, shattered, never to be repaired, for they are uneducated. Illiteracy lives everywhere and is a challenge facing all of humanity regardless of race, religion, or ideology. A country with illiterate children faces many issues. The challenges in India are a crippling combination of cultural, economic, and social issues caused all by illiteracy. Home to the largest child population of 400 million citizens aged below eighteen, the country has one of the most rigorous and a competitive schooling system in the world. The nation also has one of the lowest literacy rates globally. India’s structure of education and organization society has shaped the causes, effects and the possible solutions to the illiteracy problem. As an emerging major producer and consumer nation, India must learn to clean-up and overcome the weak and ineffective educational system and seize its future so the next generation can see a literate and soaring India.

Easter Camp 2013-Volunteering: It Can Make a Difference!

It is a great pleasure and feeling of accomplishment to spend time with kids at Easter camp as a volunteer counselor  To start making a difference within your community, you can get involves at your local schools, churches  or community centers, or just in your neighborhood. Day camps like this can really boost the confidence of a child and help them learn valuable life experiences while having tons of fun! 

A few hours a week can build a strong and healthy community

Welcome to United4Literacy-India Team!

Many members have responded to our call for member worldwide and so we are delighted to announce United4Literacy has expanded our members to create United4Literacy-India. Our Indian team will work directly to create literacy awareness in India and support local children by donating time and efforts within our communities. They share our common goal of seeing a literate India and literacy being promoted worldwide. The youth of India must step up and be the change they wish to see. We wish to see a literate and shining India!

-United4Literacy

United4Literacy invites new members 2013!

United4Literacy welcomes members to join our organization this year. Currently it is vacation time in India and we aim to educate as many children as possible in the coming school year. 

To all viewers, if you are enthusiastic and have a passion to promote education and literacy we would like to hear your ideas, thoughts and advice to succeed in our goal of promoting literacy in India and worldwide. 

To get in contact with our team just fill out the application on our website united4literacy.org, leave a comment on a blog post that interest you, or like us on facebook!

Thank you to all for your continued support and looking forward to have a year full spreading literacy!

Right to Education Bill

Despite the illiteracy issues in India, there have been significant steps taken by the government to fix this issue. The Right to Education bill was passed 4th of August 2009. This bill serves as a reminder that illiteracy will only be conquered when the peoples' voices are heard through the government. The bill's guidelines are like this: 

- Compulsory education for children between 6-14 yrs
- Rs 10,000 fine if any child prevented from going school
- No selection and screening process to choose preference over candidates
- No physical punishments
- States need to plan techniques to monitor advancements in the program
- Roping in private schools to keep 25% seats reserved at entry level
- Banning capitation fees

Indian National Official Literacy Statistics

According to the Seventh All India Education Survey by the National Council of Educational Research and Training some of the startling illiteracy statistics are:

• Less than half of India's children between the age of 6 and 14 go to school
• A little over one-third of all children who study in grade one reach grade eight.
• At least 35 million children aged 6 - 14 years do not attend school.
• 53% of girls in the age group of 5 to 9 years are illiterate.
• High cost of private education, need to work to support their families, and little interest in studies are the reasons given by 3 in every four drop-outs as the reason they leave.

The True Heros

Free the Children is an organization that embodies the morals and rights we would like to see in our world. From their small beginnings to their global success projects I find that they are the true heroes in the quest for literacy.
For great ideas and ways to play your part within your own community can come from their website: http://www.freethechildren.com/

Other organizations that have taken this initiative include:
Save the Children
UNICEF
abc life

It is the drive of organizations like these which often inspire people to unite to fight illiteracy.

Drop-out Rates

India's illiteracy problem is often accompanied by another education issue: drop-outs. The high drop-out rate in India is primarily caused by child labour. A poor family may need a child to work to feed the family and regard schooling as a financial loss. So, the children may stay in school until they are old enough to work and then drop out. They are those who are considered "literate" but do not have enough education to find a well paying job. This raises a startling question about how many people have enough education to hold a decent job. It was a quote by the Prime Minister of India addressing this issue on a pained tone, "only 47 out of 100 children enrolled in class 1 reach class 8, putting the drop out rate at 52.78%"
-Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, 2005