It is estimated that more than one billion people who make up about one sixth of the world’s population are not literate. The problem of young and adult literacy is a common problem both in industrialized countries and developing countries.

One of the ills of illiteracy is that such individuals lose their personal independence and lose their dignity that makes sense to life, leading them to become poor and to turn into inappropriate ways. The ignorance of people; diminish people, stop their economic, political, social and personal development and prevent international understanding, cooperation and world peace.

A large number of Rotary clubs are doing serious research about literacy education in their community. Some clubs publish basic books which are about teaching reading and writing, others open reading and language teaching clinics, volunteer teaching, or donate training materials. Rotarians can play a very important role in their own societies, especially in the developing countries, to develop new projects and produce new projects.

For example, Australian Rotarians have set up Light Houses for literacy projects in four schools in Thailand. This innovative teaching method has been so successful that the Thai government has applied this method to all the public schools. This innovative teaching method has been used by other Rotary clubs in Bangladesh, South Africa, Brazil and other countries.

The work has set an example for world Rotarians and is highly appreciated by International Rotary. Worldwide, the KOYE is used as a training program in primary, secondary and high school education. Turkey is the only country that applies the program to adults. For this reason, literacy studies in our country have set an example for the world. In our country, KOYE has been accepted as a continuous project. Every year, 10.000 of our citizens become literate thanks to Rotary’s program.