Earlier I used to think, when a certain critical number of Indians will become literate, we would then begin to see changes in people's lives. But overtime, having observed and worked among different communities I have realized that literacy is not a necessary element for empowerment. Information plays a bigger role and literacy is one way people can acquire information. Information seems to be at the core of a person realizing what he is worth, what he has a right to ask for, what he has a right to claim and what he should not tolerate. It follows then, that spreading information through means that do not require a community to be literate can lead to holding the authorities accountable for rendering justice to their responsibilities.
For example, there is an ambulance service called '108' available for the residents of the city Ludhiana in the state of Punjab, India. When I inquired from the migrant slum dwellers whether they knew about it, the answer was mostly no. Those who did seem to be aware of the ambulance, did not know that it was meant for everyone and that it could be called anytime anywhere to take a patient to the hospital of the choice of the patient. If this information alone is made truly universal among the city residents including the squatter hut dwellers who migrate from other states and districts, it would lead to a reduction in death rate and morbidity rate to a certain extent. It would inculcate a sense of security among the residents of the city.
Trying to achieve the same thing by improving the literacy rate would be a long route with a significant loss of life and health by the time we get there.
People are busy therefore it is difficult to get their attention, also an incorrect argument. When people are told that we are from a major hospital in the city and that we had come to ask them how far they get health services, people made time up to one hour inspite of their busy engagements and sat down and answered our questions patiently. They expressed hopelessness in the system, in its capacity to provide services that are meant to be free.
Therefore, information should be pursued seriously as an important tool to empower them towards the goal of making services more meaningfully accessible to them.
For example, there is an ambulance service called '108' available for the residents of the city Ludhiana in the state of Punjab, India. When I inquired from the migrant slum dwellers whether they knew about it, the answer was mostly no. Those who did seem to be aware of the ambulance, did not know that it was meant for everyone and that it could be called anytime anywhere to take a patient to the hospital of the choice of the patient. If this information alone is made truly universal among the city residents including the squatter hut dwellers who migrate from other states and districts, it would lead to a reduction in death rate and morbidity rate to a certain extent. It would inculcate a sense of security among the residents of the city.
Trying to achieve the same thing by improving the literacy rate would be a long route with a significant loss of life and health by the time we get there.
People are busy therefore it is difficult to get their attention, also an incorrect argument. When people are told that we are from a major hospital in the city and that we had come to ask them how far they get health services, people made time up to one hour inspite of their busy engagements and sat down and answered our questions patiently. They expressed hopelessness in the system, in its capacity to provide services that are meant to be free.
Therefore, information should be pursued seriously as an important tool to empower them towards the goal of making services more meaningfully accessible to them.
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