“As long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality persist in our world, none of us can rest”, said Nelson Mandela.
I often think about this quote as I reflect upon my life as a Syrian-Palestinian refugee and my work as an education advocate in Lebanon. Many milestones have been reached in global education, including the GPE Financing Conference in Dakar in February, with high level political commitments to education.
But from where I stand, as a young refugee seeking to realize my potential, the fight for education for all the children of the world is an uphill but worthy struggle." ~ Mahmoud Khalil, Youth Advocate for Global Partnership for Education
Last week was a good one for advocacy on behalf of children. As GCE-US encouraged people and policymakers to take action in support of global education, ChildFund International also used the week of April 22 to activate child protection advocacy experts from six country offices and U.S. staff to press the issue of protecting children from violence in schools, homes, and communities.
Around the world, there are between 93 to 150 million children with disabilities (UNICEF, 2013). An estimated 80% of people with disabilities live in low and middle-income countries (Barron & Ncube, 2010) where they are among the most marginalized people in the world - more likely to live in poverty and less likely to be in school (Filmer, 2008; Mitra, et al, 2013). Many are “invisible,” even to their neighbors, because they do not leave home, receive social services, attend school, or participate in community life.
Global Action Week for Education has arrived! April 22th to April 28th is the week to highlight the actions that you take to promote global education & encourage others to take action to address the urgent need for universal quality education. Please join us in taking action to support global education. You can be a hero to children in need!
At sixteen years old, Cecelia, a young woman from Chiunda Village in Malawi, has already confronted countless barriers to receiving her education.
As early as primary school, Cecelia remembers watching her friends drop out – a fate that is all too common in the country of Malawi, where less than 6% of women hold a high school diploma. Throughout her adolescence, she has seen firsthand the problems of early marriage. One in every two girls nationwide is married or raising children by the age of 18.
It is Global Action Week for Education—a great time to GO take action, to GO share your actions with a friend and to GO encourage them to take action as well.
Education in emergencies more often than not is focused on building safe places, structure, and strong programs for children working through trauma and grief and without any other options due to overloaded government systems and limited educational resources.
What is lacking, however, is effective programming for teenagers in emergencies. We hear a lot about child-friendly spaces, and see activities taking place for those ages six to twelve, but once they hit their teenage years, the number of programs available drop drastically.
I love watching the Summer Olympics. There is just something that is really amazing to watch as athletes representing their countries compete in events they have spent years and at times decades getting ready to participate in.
Education is a human right. More than that, it is a lifesaving humanitarian response. School provides stability, structure and routine that children need to cope with loss, fear, stress and violence. Being in school can keep children safe and protected from risks, including gender-based violence, recruitment into armed groups, child labor, and early marriage. In periods of crisis, parents and children identify education as one of their highest priority needs.
