AN American who was titled the world’s first lady of literacy, lit India’s lamp of learning too. Born on September 18 in Rome, New York, her maiden name was Welthy Honsinger and her father was an iron-foundry owner. She graduated from Syracuse University and also studied music inNew York and Paris. She planned to make a career in opera, and to pursue that she attended a Methodist meeting. It changed her thinking, and her life. Soon she found herself the headmistress of a Methodist school for young Chinese women. She learned to speak Mandarin and adopted Chinese customs. She modernised the school by adding the subjects of science and music in the higher classes. Unfortunately political turmoil constantly caused impediments but Welthy was much too strong to give up. One night a fire broke out and the school was burnt down.

In 1938, Dr Fisher died and Welthy tried to find a new way to channelise her talent and energy. She toured the USA and wrote books and lectured on international understanding. In 1952, around the age of 72 years, she returned to India. She recalled that Gandhiji had written to her, about the need of literacy in India. With a sense of urgency, she began her crusade and her work carried on for over 15 years. Her heart went out to the millions of illiterate and poverty-stricken villagers. She wondered where should she begin from. The Allahabad Agricultural Institute requested her to extend help with regard to an experiment aimed at introducing child care, sanitation and modern farming in 550,000 villages of India. Welthy immediately plunged into action. She designed a trunk that could hold 50 books and could be carried around on a bicycle. Along with 43 graduates of the university, she made a literacy kit which included a blackboard, chalk, slates, simple readers and a kerosene lamp.

Initially Welthy and her team of teachers faced opposition from the illiterate villagers. It took her a while to get them out of their rigid thinking. Once a few villagers began to enjoy reading and writing, the desire to learn and ‘awaken’ spread wildly.

In 1956 Welthy moved her headquarters from Allahabad to Lucknow. She called the headquarters Literacy Village. Here students who wished to teach the others were trained and further educated to support the cause, and donations came in from various organisations. Thousands of Literacy Village graduates covered almost the whole of North India. Some taught as primary school teachers, while others organised night-schools for adults. Some pedalled down to villages to distribute books to the literates.

Besides the literacy campaign, awareness of health and hygiene was imparted. Groups from Nepal, Iraq, Iran, Sarwak, Afghanistan, Philippines and Mali came to Literacy Village to study the methods of teaching. When the Dalai Lama and many Tibetans were driven out of China, Literacy Village trained four well-educated Tibetans, who set up schools for the refugees. Puppeteers were trained to tell stories to educate people about vaccinations, diseases and of how money-lenders cheated the illiterates.

Welthy Fisher was presented the Magsaysay Award in 1964 for spreading literacy in Asia. She used the prize-money of $ 10,000 to start a farmers’ institute. Here men were taught farming, reading, writing and simple arithmetic.

From 1951 to 1972, Welthy was deeply involved with World Education, an organisation founded by her in New York City and dedicated to providing literacy training to those who needed it most throughout the world.

Welthy Fisher made two "farewell" trips to India in 1973 and 1977, but returned one last time in 1980 before dying at the age of 101 in Southbury, Connecticut.

A woman of action

TWO things are certain about Welthy: she was a woman of action, and she had a personality so large and multi-faceted it is almost impossible to portray accurately in words. While she fought tirelessly for education for the poor and was dedicated to the notion of Christian charity, she never gave up her personal pleasures, including her collection of stylish dresses and hats, her desire to be hopelessly in love with her husband, and her delight in singing in her renowned voice. She had an amazing ability as a fundraiser, yet she paid her own way every time she travelled internationally. She lived her entire life on the very modest wages she made through working for various organisations, yet she never wanted for anything. Above all else, she was ready at a moment’s notice to speak, campaign, raise money, or travel for the people she helped in India. She had an amazing energy that persisted until the day she died of natural old age. World Education still benefits from that energy. Thanks to th tireless efforts of Welthy Fisher, World Education was built with enough vision and strength to carry on its work into the twentyfirst century, and to expand to reach more and more larger numbers of women, girls, and men. As Welthy knew, there is still much work in the world to be done—she herself was planning for a century.

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On a trip to India in 1947, she was asked by Gandhi himself to return permanently to India and continue her work in education there. Her life came full circle, as it was in India that she decided beyond all doubt that the only way to eradicate poverty was through literacy training. As Welthy said at that time:

"lliteracy is a real tragedy for a modern man. . . . As a nation becomes democratic and industrial, there’s no time for the wise men, for the cultured illiteracy of simpler civilizations, where remembered words were handed down in the village square. Now a man who can’t read is cut off from participation in his own government, in choosing his leaders. He can’t progress or improve himself because he can’t read directions or handle the workings of machines. In this new India, men and women needed to read as never before."