“If I cannot write my name, how can you see who I am?” — Mother in Uganda who recently learned to write her name . After spending an uplifting week in Uganda, my experience shone a light on the importance of learning, which is all too often taken for granted. As part of an international development nonprofit, I am always moved and inspired when I see how innovative Unbound’s local teams in Latin America, Asia and Africa are — continually piloting new programs to address the specific challenges faced by families struggling with poverty. One such program is the Integrated Community Learning for Wealth Creation or ICOLEW adult literacy initiative in Uganda. According to Teddy Naluwu, coordinator of Unbound’s program in Uganda, the adult illiteracy rate in that country today is approximately 24%. But among Unbound adults, all of whom live in rural areas, about 40% cannot read or write. Thanks to the ICOLEW program, implemented in partnership with the government and with capacity-building support from the German nongovernmental organization DVV International, 581 adult learners (464 women, 117 men) will graduate in December after having completed a two-year course that combines basic reading, writing and arithmetic with socioeconomic skills that help them create microenterprises, build savings, and access and use credit. I had the privilege of meeting two of the groups of women and men about to graduate from the program. They told of how education had been denied to them as children. Many had lost parents to HIV/AIDs in the 1980s and ‘90s. Others had parents who could not afford school. Women described having to stay home while their brothers went to class. Yet through the ICOLEW program, they now had some level of basic reading, writing and numeracy skills. Two women, Falaziya and Grace, demonstrated how they could now write their names across a chalkboard. I cannot imagine not being able to write my name — my identity. The women spoke with deep feeling about the significance of this learning. They could now sign the attendance sheet at their Unbound mothers group meetings, sign for small loans and sign the visitors book at their children’s schools. They were being seen in a way that had been lost to them in the past. Several men described being able to check the math on business receipts, knowing they will no longer be cheated. One learner after another brought us their schoolbooks and flipped through the pages with pride to show the full sentences they had written, and the addition and subtraction problems they had solved. They discussed the small businesses they had started during the program with Unbound training, from beekeeping to making liquid soap to styling hair, proudly showing us the business ledgers they themselves were now keeping — names, numbers and all. The full impact became evident when they told of the different lives their children would now lead. They would stay in school. They would learn to read and write. Signing their names would never be an issue. This is real change. This is learning. Now, as we enter another holiday season, reflecting on all that we are grateful for, I hope we all take a moment to consider how we can have an impact in our communities and beyond to help prioritize learning across the globe. Education is truly the key to eradicating poverty. https://www.kansascity.com/opinion/readers-opinion/guest-commentary/article296136114.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawG-MNFleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHUOsReVVXluwrz3alo_T4g0cn-OJHxaLd6QyWZmnzo-0SUyqy65dHvqIfA_aem_KW3dntSJVQVZvfXZkueLLg