A low level of literacy development plagues many parts of the Pacific region despite the fact that parents are very keen for their children to become literate in order to embrace the modern world. Issues concerning early education and the attainment of literacy are still a challenge in the Pacific. In order to understand the reasons for the low rates of literacy, a comprehensive overview of the context of the family, preschool, school, and country, including the government services, is given in this article. Vanuatu is used as an example of the experience of many Pacific Island countries.