The offices of World Literacy of Canada on the ghats of Varanasi, India

World Literacy of Canada (WLC) is a non-profit voluntary organization that promotes community-based adult literacy programs and non-formal education for both children and adults. WLC runs programs in both Canada and India. In India, the organization is centred in Varanasi, with the main office right on the ghats. As a supporter and sometimes volunteer with WLC, I visited the offices when I was in Varanasi last March (2009).

One of the ways WLC raises funds is by holding the annual Kama series of readings and conversations in Toronto, where the organization’s offices are headquartered. This year, the reading series will be held on five separate nights, from January through May, and feature authors such as Margaret Atwood and media personalities such as Peter Mansbridge.

They also hold other events, such as the Eyes on India film series. Recently, I attended a reception and screening of the excellent film Before the Rains with Linus Roache and Rahul Bose and had great conversations with executive director Mamta Mishra and former board member Andrew Ignatieff. In the past I have attended fundraisers such as an event that honoured Indo-Canadian film director Deepa Mehta and featured the screening of all three films in her trilogy Fire, Earth and Water.

Supporting literacy in India

There are so many reasons I enjoy supporting this organization, not the least of which is the founding story. The inspiration behind WLC is a larger-than-life woman named Welthy Fisher, an educator who lived and traveled widely in China and India literally through the first 75 years of the 20th century. She knew Mahatma Gandhi, who, in 1947, encouraged her to start an adult literacy program in India. At the time, India’s literacy rate was 18%. So, in 1953 she opened Literacy House in Lucknow.

In 1955, Welthy was invited by Dr. Frank Laubach, a leading pioneer of the contemporary literacy movement and the founder of the “Each One Teach One” method, to share her experiences in India with a small group of Canadians. World Literacy of Canada was founded in response, to support Literacy House. Welthy Fisher lived to be 101 years old. She was always guided by her motto, “It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.”

Kama is Sanskrit for pleasure, and Kama reading series celebrates the pleasure of reading and books. It’s easy to take this privilege for granted and forget that many people are illiterate. Literacy is the key to helping people attain a better standard of living and the fullest expression of human rights. Please help support World Literacy of Canada if you can!

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