Overview
Each year, the Ceylon Bible Society aim to run literacy classes through the network of churches and Christian organisations in Sri Lanka, especially in rural, slum and undeveloped areas. These classes increase the access to the Scriptures for those who are uneducated and neglected in the undeveloped areas of Sri Lanka.
Despite the official literacy rate for Sri Lanka – 92.3% in 2019, in a population of 21.4 million people – there are still a significant number of people in rural areas, slums, undeveloped areas and among ethnic minority groups who do not have proper access to education. These include street children, children and youth in orphanages, underprivileged children, disabled children, those growing up in slum areas and poor children growing up in rural areas who don’t even have their basic needs met. The financial crises of 2022 have increased the needs of the people, with 28% of the population facing food insecurity and the poverty rate doubling in the last year.
Churches have been trying to reach out to children and young people who have some literacy, but struggle in reading and writing in their mother language. Yet the churches have lacked a systematic approach and have approached Bible Society asking for assistance.
Statistics
- 21.4 million people living in Sri Lanka
- 1.25 million adult non-literates in Sri Lanka
- 7.67% of people are Christians
If the appeal is oversubscribed or the project changes due to unforeseen reasons, we will reallocate remaining funds to similar projects.
