Overview
Education is the key to lifting millions of children around the world out of extreme poverty and hunger. For every year of quality education a child receives, their adult earning potential increases by a worldwide average of 10 per cent. 1 |
 |
When children get even a basic, primary education, they learn important skills that will help them grow. Children who are educated are less likely to get sick because they know how to protect themselves from diseases. They are better prepared to earn a living because they have learned to read. Most importantly, they learn their rights and are empowered to protect themselves from exploitation.
Even though education is so important, 120 millions school-aged children never get the chance to enter a classroom. In many countries, the quality of education is not good enough.
Free The Children's Adopt a Village Brick-by-Brick: Schoolbuilding project builds schools in areas where there are none and replaces schools that are falling apart. Through Brick-by-Brick, communities grow stronger because children are empowered to work towards a brighter future.
Why aren't children in school?
There are many reasons why children aren't in school, but they all boil down to the larger issue of poverty. Here are some specific barriers to education facing children in the developing world:
• In many rural areas, there are no schools for children to go to, or the schools that do exist are falling apart.
• Children living in poverty usually can't afford to pay tuition fees, or buy books and uniforms.
• Many children living in poverty are too sick to go to school.
• Some children are forced to work to support their families instead of getting an education.
Better access for girls
Girls face greater barriers to education than boys. More than half of the children who do not attend school are girls. 2 This lack of education affects the ability of adult women to succeed. Two-thirds of the world's illiterate adults are women. 3
Girls are more likely to be out of school because of cultural expectations for women in many developing countries. For example, in many communities, girls are responsible for collecting water every morning, a task that can mean walking for hours to the nearest water source. If parents can only afford to send one child to school, they are more likely to choose a son than a daughter because boys are more valued. Finally, many girls drop out of school once they reach puberty because most schools in developing countries don't have separate bathrooms for boys and girls.
Free The Children works with the individual needs of local communities to address barriers that keep girls out of school. All Free The Children schools are attended equally by boys and girls.
Quick facts about education
• 150 million children drop out of primary school before they have completed five years of education-the minimum required for achieving basic literacy. 4
• 133 million young people cannot read or write. 5
• Of the estimated 700 million primary-school-age children in the world today, roughly 120 million are not in school. 6
• Nearly three-quarters of these 120 million children live in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia , and 53 per cent are girls. 7
• For every year of quality education a child receives, their adult earning potential increases by a worldwide average of 10 per cent. 8
 |
What you can do to help
The Adopt a Village Brick by Brick: Schoolbuilding program is your chance to help make sure all children get the education they deserve. Sign up and raise money to support the building of a school in a developing country, or outfit a school with furniture, textbooks and other necessities. |
Footnotes
1. UNICEF, "Education: The Big Picture," 2006. http://www.unicef.ca/portal/SmartDefault.aspx?at=1282 (as accessed March 14, 2007)
2. UNICEF, "Education: The big picture," http://www.unicef.ca/portal/SmartDefault.aspx?at=1282 (as accessed March 14, 2007)
3. UNICEF, "Basic Education and Gender Equality," http://www.unicef.org/girlseducation/index_bigpicture.html (as accessed March 14, 2007)
4. UNESCO, "The Extent of the Problem," http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=28702&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html, as accessed March 15, 2007.
5. United Nations, "Only With Your Voice - Millennium Development Goals Youth Action Guide" (p.7), http://www.millenniumcampaign.org/atf/cf/%7BD15FF017-0467-419B-823E-D6659E0CCD39%7D/en_action_guide.pdf, as accessed March 14, 2007.
6. UNICEF, "Education: The big picture," http://www.unicef.ca/portal/SmartDefault.aspx?at=1282, as accessed March 14, 2007.
7. UNICEF, "Education: The big picture," http://www.unicef.ca/portal/SmartDefault.aspx?at=1282 (as accessed March 14, 2007)
8. UNICEF, "Education: The big picture," http://www.unicef.ca/portal/SmartDefault.aspx?at=1282, as accessed March 14, 2007.
|
