Rotary Clubs worldwide have been doing groundbreaking work in this area. Rotary works in the following areas towards improving literacy levels worldwide:

TEACHER TRAINING 

We share our knowledge and experience with educators and other professionals who work with vulnerable populations. Examples of these projects are the Guatemala Literacy Project and Nepal Teacher Training Innovations (NTTI). You can find out more about these here:

https://www.rotary.org/en/teaching-teachers-key-literacy

ADULT LITERACY

Rotary members fight adult illiteracy by working with local advocates to offer community literacy programs. 

ROTARY SCHOLARSHIPS

Rotary members invest in the future by giving scholarships to students who have the potential to change our communities.

EDUCATING REFUGEES

Being a refugee also disrupts education amongst other things and thus threatens to put the life of refugees into permanent hardships. Rotary clubs and been working in refugee camps to bring education and food to refugees. A classic example is the America University of Nigeria chapter of the Yola Rotary Club. Read the whole story here:

https://www.rotary.org/en/rotarian-helps-boko-haram-victims-nigeria

SCHOOLS4FREEDOM

The Rotarian Action Group Against Slavery (RAGAS has a strategy for fighting modern slavery that’s working at the local level. With the help of 13 clubs, a district grant through the Rotary Club of Binghamton, New York, USA, and other sources, the action group is providing $36,000 toward the work of Schools4Freedom, a project of the organization Voices4Freedom. Schools4Freedom is working in Uttar Pradesh with local partner organization Manav Sansadhan Evam Mahila Vikas Sansthan (MSEMVS) to battle debt bondage. Read this inspiring story here:

https://www.rotary.org/en/education-breaks-cycle-slavery

Thanks to the efforts of Rotary Clubs, numerous NGOs, and dedicated individuals, the basic literacy levels at least in urban areas has improved. Hence I would like to give the theme month a twist:

With the increase in digital cashless transactions, basic digital literacy has also become the need of the hour. I would like to suggest that each of us vow to impart basic digital literacy training to at least one person in this month. It can be anyone right from an elderly person in your house or even the "maushi" selling vegetables in your neghbourhood. You can teach them how to send and receive money via BHIM UPI or any other popular digital payment service. BHIM UPI is available in all regional languages too and you can use it even without a smartphone (via SMS and IVR). While learning to use the payments app, those who cannot read and write will automatically learn to read and write at least numbers. And while you are at it, do not forget to also teach them the basic security measures that they need to look at, like not sharing their OTP and PIN.

I think this would be a great initiative, so are you up for it?