Kennedy Sintilawo had no idea he could read the Bible since he had not attended any reading and writing school.

"When my Bible teacher, who is one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, invited me to a congregation meeting for the first time, he told me there was a school that teaches how to read and write,” said Sintilawo.

He added: “I took advantage of the arrangement and enrolled right away.”

Illiteracy is not an isolated problem in Malawi and according to the latest data available from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), as many as 35 percent of Malawians cannot read or write.

Worldwide, this number is estimated to be 771 million, up from 763 million before the pandemic.

To bring attention to this ongoing global issue, UNESCO has organized its 56th annual International Literacy Day, to be observed on September 8, 2023.

In response to falling literacy rates exacerbated by the pandemic, the theme chosen for this year’s event is “Promoting literacy for a world in transition: Building the foundation for sustainable and peaceful societies.”

Jehovah’s Witnesses have long understood the connection between literacy skills and peaceful communities.

Starting in the 1940s, they have continuously operated free literacy classes around the world using the study aids Learn to Read and Write and Apply Yourself to Reading and Writing.

Sintilawo is one of hundreds of thousands worldwide that have benefited from this program.

“Before long, I could read and write—thanks to the diligence of the one teaching us!” testified Sintilawo, who is now one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

She has expressed gratitude for the literacy class arrangement; "it is very good. I am able to give talks at congregation meetings and I read and write well. I am grateful to Jehovah for giving us this school.”

Spokesperson for Jehovah's Witnesses in the south, Tenson Mulungu said there is no doubt that reading unifies communities and families.

Mulungu said, “But by far the greatest benefit that comes from reading is that it allows us to understand the Bible. If we can’t read it, we are missing out on instructions from the Creator himself.”