10 Sep 2009: Shower Test = Light of Literacy

"Be passionate, Tiffany. But, be patient." My dad's words pierced my 20 year-old soul. I eagerly stood on the threshold of embracing the wide world around me. I was heading to Uganda for a year to teach in a rural village. Dad saw my enthusiasm, but knew keenly of a personal pinch I felt wrestling with the choice to put in mission papers before pursuing my passion in Kampala.

I received my mission call to the Philippines shortly after postponing my Sub-Saharan adventure. I thought for sure I'd be speaking French in Cote d'Ivoire since I'd offered Africa on the altar. Turns out, the Lord found Filipinos to be the best fit for my personal mentors as I encountered rural poverty, rife illiteracy, and rampant socio-economic degradation.

I opened my eyes wide and inhaled all that life afforded me in those humid tropical islands. I loved the intimate conversations shared in tiny hovels. I loved the wrinkles and calluses of salt-of-the-earth rice farmers. I loved the smiles that peeled across cautious faces when they heard me speak Tagalog and found out that I was sleeping in their neighborhood.

With all the beauty that came in this resource-rich environment, I was stung with a soulful pain when I confronted the inequalities of my reality and others I met. This period was a personal crucible that burned a chasm of consciousness within me as I also questioned "Why?"

The most gripping issue that affected me and still preoccupies my shower thoughts is Lita - the vibrant, hard-working mother of four who tirelessly trekked into Dagupan for LDS church services, but could never read the scriptures that we shared or that were taught by others. I saw the transformation that came when she felt fear for reading. I saw the slavery she experiences by relying on others to interpret what is read. I saw the damnation that comes when educational limitations prevent her from participating in the community, in her kids' school, in her world.

During that period of life, I was pierced by scriptural endorsement of literacy: the contrast of the warlike people of Omni who had not brought records with them and their language was corrupted in contrast to the peaceful people of Mosiah who were taught to read and write in the language of their father in fulfillment of commandment (Mosiah 1:1-4).

I take courage and counsel - indeed, I am passionate - about the scripture, "In the beginning was the Word." (John 1:1)

Perhaps the biggest personal discovery I've had is this:
- God gave me passion and talents
- I get to explore these opportunities
- I am here to build the kingdom: D&C 88: 78, 79, 80
- By pursuing my mission and my talents, I am building the Kingdom of God
- I must choose how to proportion my time as a wife, a mother, a student, a neighbor, a teacher
- I will consecrate all that I create and all that I gain (intellectually, economically, socially etc.)

Communities where I see this need for access to learning tools:
- youth-managed resource centers
- community multimedia centers
- literacy buddy program
- family reading program
- reading corners in personal homes
- mobile mentors on bicycles
- women's literacy groups
- microcredit borrowers groups
- female community health volunters
- rural health clinics

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Himalayan Wisdom:
After 5 plane rides, a 12-hour truck-ride, a nighttime canoe-ride, and a long trek uphill, I arrived to a remote Himalayan village. It was pitch black outside, but inside a small community center I saw 40 women huddled around 4 dim kerosene lanterns trying to read. A facilitator stood nearby holding her lantern up to a piece of broken slate. Her brilliant white chalk cut the darkness with words.

I learned that women studied at nighttime because their husbands only allowed them to study after first caring for the housework, cattle, farm, and children. The next day we worked with villagers to install solar panels on the top of their community center.

We worked with a small committee but had 40 supervisors. By evening, we had over 100 people watching the solar installation. By sundown, the entire village gathered to watch the first electrification of this rural village.

On the count of three, the sun’s energy filtered through the solar panels to the battery, through simple wire, to 4 basic fluorescent bulbs. Out of the pitch black, 4 different hands turned on 4 different switches and eradicated all darkness from the literacy center.

The villagers cheered, clapped, and many cried. Dances of celebration commenced after speeches from village elders and community dignitaries.

Finally, a woman from the literacy class spoke: “This light is powerful,” she said. “But, the light of literacy is the true light of this group!”


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LITERACY IS ILLUMINATION

I know that literacy is empowerment. It is the greatest tool to keep alive the spark of testimony and to eliminate inactivity. I know that knowledge illuminates minds to see possibilities.

Literacy kindles a light that empowers children of God with access to human rights, healthcare, and income-generation.

For the last 12 years, I have worked on literacy programs in rural poor countries. I have seen light ignited in illiterate souls as they learn to read written text. As they kindle knowledge, I have seen minds and souls illuminated with understanding.

But, how do we sustain the light of literacy? How do we continue progressing once funding is finished? These questions haunt me. I would like to explore answers to these questions through possibilities of open content, digitized and freely available tools, training for localization. I'm not sure of particulars, but I know these general ideas trigger my passion to rise.

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