In recent days, Blanca Ida Saavedra, a Uruguayan woman, made headlines throughout the country after it was announced that, at 93 years of age, she finished primary school. Thus, Blanca, who as a child could only reach third grade, represents a good part of older adults who had to abandon their basic studies to dedicate themselves to work or help their parents at home. In fact, as revealed by El País, in Uruguay 1.2% of the population cannot read or write, which adds to the data from the Continuous Household Survey that shows that 8.7% of those over 25 do not have formal education. In addition, the study reveals that illiteracy doubles among those over 65 years of age, especially in the rural population.
For example, Blanca Ida, like her eight siblings, had to leave school to plant corn and support her family in Flores in ploughing. In dialogue with the same media, he said that he did three kilometers on foot to get to school. In addition, she explained that, since she only had a pair of shoes, she took them out to make the walking tour and not ruin them.As her husband did not go to school either, she learned to read and write to be able to keep track of her home. She confessed that she would have loved to be a teacher, but her efforts were devoted to her four children. One of them graduated as an educator and became an inspector, while her great-granddaughter, Eloísa Escondeur, is also dedicated to teaching. And it is her great-granddaughter who also helped her finish school: she picked her up to go to school together three times a week.
