where is design while solving literacy issue?

Have you ever felt neglected because of illiteracy? No because we were many of us never even thought of this as an issue of social imbalance. The whole system of money and social status is based on literacy rate and knowledge.

An incident today at the bank of Baroda, I was there to get a bank statement and the machines were down due to some reason and I was waiting for them to come alive and solve my problem. While I was seating their waiting a guy in his 20′s approached me to help him fill up the deposit-voucher for the bank he was holding. When I looked at the paper it was a withdrawal draft and not deposit, I asked him to get the deposit voucher from the cashier. He stood next to the counter of the cashier asking him for the right form. I was not surprised but curious of what the cashier replied to that guy.

The cashier : ” I do not have time to help you fill your forms, go get it done yourself. I am very busy here can’t you see.” Poor guy with neglected face wandering around the bank looking for an answer to his problem. He was a little shy to ask me again to fill in the form. As I nodded at him asking what happened he came to me asking for help. I then asked one of the guy in the bank for the right form and filled it for him as he didn’t know how to write or read. He wanted to send money to his father in Delhi and had money hidden in his inside trouser pocket. He carefully counted the notes and told me how many of which notes. I asked him to sign the form by himself when I finished filling it, he did it but in broken Hindi, hardly his first name. Once it was done he went and finished it with the cashier, happily left thanking for the help I did.

Now I am still seating there waiting for those machines to come alive, suddenly another guy approached me asking to do the same, fill up the deposit voucher. He was literate in local language but not national and international language. So again I helped this guy to fill up the form, He could not fill up the form because the form was in Hindi and English, and he only knew Kannada. So again a problem for those who do not know how to read or write Hindi.

There are two hidden social issues in these, what about those who live away from home and not literate? another how far does the design help those who only know local languages and not Hindi and English.

I see them as backward by the system not the region or religion. The issue of industries taking over to farmers and other villagers ways of making life and forcing them to look for new ways to earn their livelihood. The issue connects the complete cycle of poor people’s economy and life.
The question remains unanswered as Indian government wants to improve its economy by industrialization.

If we can not help the fellow humans how are we expected to help the next generation. The questions are big and so many. The system is designed for those who can use it by its terms not who needs it the most.

What about a blind guy who wants to send money to someone far away? Does the system have any answer to that?   Think how can we solve these issues. Do comment any one.

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