Q: Literacy is one of the emphases for your presidential year, and you’ve created a Literacy Resource Group. Why is literacy so important to you?

A: Illiteracy is demeaning and affects about 800 million people – more than twice the entire U.S. population. Those who can’t read lose personal independence and can easily become victims of manipulation and poverty. It is virtually impossible to break from the poverty cycle if you cannot read or write, and sadly, a majority of the illiterate are women. This makes it so difficult to promote health and nutrition and to deliver vital information.

On a personal level, though, when I was a teenager, my family owned a bookstore in New Zealand. I’m mad about reading. Much of my education has come from books.

In addition, as part of an Inner Wheel* project, my wife, Lorna, and I have spent many days reading with students – many with low-income backgrounds – at Mayfield School in South Auckland, New Zealand.

I believe that literacy is empowering and that any club can take on a literacy project that is appropriate to its community.

*The Inner Wheel is an international organization of women who work together in support of Rotary's mission.