Ellen's Story

Victoria, British Columbia - Ellen Szita's story began in England, where she was born into a family of eight children. At 14 years of age, with very little schooling, she went to work in a factory. Having lived through a dysfunctional childhood, she experienced a total loss of self-worth and attempted suicide at 15.

In 1960 at age 18, Ellen immigrated to Canada, to the province of Quebec. Ten years later, she moved to British Columbia with her husband and four children. After her marriage failed, she lived on welfare for many years due to her lack of literacy and essential skills. Depression followed, and during one of Ellen's visits to her therapist, it was discovered that she was dyslexic. Her doctor then encouraged her to upgrade her reading, writing and numeracy skills through a program offered by the Victoria READ Society and funded by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada's Office of Literacy and Essential Skills.

It was during the time she spent at the Victoria READ Society that Ellen learned about the high rates of low literacy skills in Canada. Since three of her four children had left school between Grades 7 and 10, Ellen became aware that, as she put it, “illiteracy could breed illiteracy.” This realization resulted in her becoming actively involved with the Movement for Canadian Literacy in Ottawa, where she is still a board member.

Ellen, a recovering alcoholic of 25 years, now sits on three boards of directors for literacy. She has participated on various panels; given talks at high schools, colleges, universities and conferences; as well as spoken to incarcerated people, to health organizations and to many other groups. She went on to take a counselling course so she could help learners in need. Ellen has also been interviewed on radio and television, and has been featured in several newspaper and magazine articles aimed at promoting literacy awareness.

A recipient of several literacy awards, Ellen has also published works of poetry, short stories and articles. On International Literacy Day, September 8, 1994, she was awarded the Flight for Freedom Award by the Governor General of Canada. Ten years later, Ellen was once more honoured on International Literacy Day, as runner-up for the Council of the Federation Literacy Award. An award-winning documentary produced on her life, Ellen's Story, has been shown throughout North America and Europe. Her autobiography of the same name, which was recently published, is a testimony to her 25 years of hard work for literacy. Most recently, Ellen was named Readers' Digest's Hero of 2009.