Overview
Each year, the Ceylon Bible Society aims to run literacy classes through the network of churches and Christian organisations in Sri Lanka, especially in rural, slum and undeveloped areas. These classes offer reading, listening and writing skills to non-literate youth and children in Sri Lanka so they can contribute to the development of their communities as well as increase their ability to learn and understand Scriptures.
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 and undeveloped areas and among ethnic minority groups who do not have proper access to education. These include underprivileged children and youth. The financial crises of 2022 have increased their needs, with 28% of the population facing food insecurity and the poverty rate doubling in the last year.
Churches have been trying to assist children lacking in basic literacy skills with various literacy programs. Yet these churches have lacked a systematic approach and have asked for Bible Society’s assistance.
Statistics
- 21.4 million people living in Sri Lanka
- 1.25 million adult non-literates in Sri Lanka
- 7.67% of people in Sri Lanka are Christians
If the appeal is oversubscribed or the project changes due to unforeseen reasons, we will reallocate remaining funds to similar projects.
