Illiteracy is disease...

He walked inside the bank in his style;
Tall, handsome, and young-looking —as he wore a smile.He collected a deposit slip and approached where I was sitting. 'Why is he smiling?' So I was thinking, while I continued shrugging...

I didn't even know when he sat down beside me. All of a sudden, he looked at me and signaled using his hand...
Pen, yeah pen, I gave it out and to show respect, I had to bend...

'Bawonimomhhhrrrrm,' was what I heard —he murmured 'Shebiiii ni maaa ko si,' he muttered looking disorganized and still wanting to scribble some things down. I thought he was deaf at first, but with what I just heard; no, not even now!

Then, I smiled and helped with the writing
Happily he stood up and joined the queue
I was not bothered even though he didn't say thank you
Minutes passed, he came back and sat down boiling with the confusion look of this-isn't-happening...

Another man came to where we were and started asking him questions in English
He was wordless and looked snobbish The second man continued and got him frustrated. Staring back at him, I sensed it —illiteracy as he was still confused!

I shook my head as my mind was splitting apart. I felt a huge blow coming anteriorly to my heart...

I saw illiteracy in the pen I gave him
I saw the pen in the man
I saw the man in the second man
All were illiterate!

How sad...

He didn't even know what pen is in English.That was why he signalled with his hand in a manner I call stylish. The pen couldn't even help him until he sought my help as this disease was full to the brim.
The second man with his cure didn't help him instead, made him; more of a victim...

Illiteracy in the land of plenty
Illiteracy, the sister of stupidity
Illiteracy, the brother of poverty
Illiteracy the twin of ignominy...

I shout to the living and the dead as this event is still fresh in my head who will help take it out? And give him a fresh start...

AFTER WORDS
Illiteracy is a disease, although curable. My own definition of illiteracy is when one can't read, write and communicate. Although he has informal education, not formal. His lack of formal education made him an illiterate especially when the formal language is English. Banks and other social gatherings can crate and avenue to help these people.
(Dr. Scientia)

See what illiteracy can cause
At a hospital's intensive care unit (I.C.U), patients always died in the same bed at 7am every morning regardless of their condition.

This puzzled medical staff, so a group of medical doctors decided to observe the bed in secret and waited for the fateful hour. Some held crosses and prayer books to ward off evil influences. While the less superstitious ones held cameras, tablets, smart phones to capture every moment of this hour.

At exactly 7 am, the door to the ward slowly opened, Mama Sikira the cleaner who usually starts her duties at 7:00am,came in and disconnected the life support from the mains and plugged in her Nokia phone charger

Image credit