A secret curse

Read this:
aaaaaadnl $7674&*@ hkasddh

Find it hard? Or did you dismiss it as gibberish? Not so fast. One out of every 5 people in Canada are illiterate. When they meet a page with writing on it, this is what they see. Yet, these people have jobs, run businesses and you would not guess that they have this secret affliction. Yes, it is a secret in some people's lives, one that they either refuse to acknowledge, or hide away like a canker. They get by in their lives simply by asking for help from others, weaving elaborate lies, blundering through life with the enormous pressure of their secret.

Not all of these people are new immigrants to Canada, burdened with the learning of a new language - in this case, English. Some have been here for generations, their ancestors probably came in from Europe or America a couple of hundred years ago. Somehow, they just didn't get through school. Some have learning disablities which prevented their access to normal schooling. Some were too busy helping Dad at the store in rural Saskatoon and couldn't be bothered with going to school.

All these facts I heard from a lady at an organization called 'SELF - Skills for Employment, Life & Family'. They have an office in my city and I volunteered to tutor adult learners in literacy. Last Monday, I attended the workshop (which will run for 4 weeks) teaching me how to tutor adults.

I must say I was shocked at the level of illiteracy in a 'developed' country like Canada.
Will keep you posted on how it pans out.