At the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in New York, world leaders gathered to meet and discuss many pressing topics. Thanks to your advocacy, global education was front and center. Here are highlights from the 72nd UN General Assembly:
The 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal on April 25, 2015 and subsequent 7.2-magnitude “aftershock” on May 12th destroyed or badly damaged every building in Educate the Children’s project area. Over the following years, ETC designed and constructed two-classroom buildings at some of the 29 schools with which we had already been working before the earthquakes so that children can get back to achieving a successful and safe education in Nepal.
A few months ago I met a grandmother.
That’s not so remarkable, until I tell you that she is only 25.
No matter how you calculate the math and circumstances that result in a young lady becoming a grandmother at age 25, it is horrific. There is no instant panacea that will make instances like this history. In this particular case, I can point to a long civil war, with its attendant atrocities, as well as child marriage, poverty, and other factors as contributory, but I really started the story this way to make the point that in our drive for accurate statistics with which to make decisions, we must never lose sight of the fact that those statistics point to real people, with real stories, and with very real barriers to overcome.
Early childhood development can sound technical or overly complicated, a jumble of dozens of interventions across all sectors. Really though, it’s quite simple: giving each child all of the things he or she needs to grow up strong and healthy, feel secure, learn and succeed. ECD interventions are critical for ensuring that all children are given a fair start in life and an equal chance to reach their full potential, no matter who they are or where they were born.
Libraries Without Borders (LWB) has partnered with the Colombian Ministry of Culture and the National Library of Colombia to leverage educational and cultural tools for peacebuilding. The design of this intervention is based upon the premise that educational and cultural programs are critical for individuals and communities who have faced crisis and conflict.
We love sharing stories of kids like Suhbat, who came to our center and spent time laughing and playing and working through the trauma of being displaced by ISIS through art and character building lessons.
We love talking about Shilan, and how our work was provoking her family to think through issues of respect and forgiveness.
We get excited to share stories about how the teenagers who came to our classes were inspired to study together and felt more confident going into their exam sessions.
This is Masa. When Masa was one year old, her family was forced to flee their home country of Syria for Turkey. Today, Masa is five years old, an age when many children around the world go to school. She is among the 1 million Syrian refugee children living in neighboring countries who are not in school.
Sylvia is 19 years old and was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Her parents were killed as a result of conflict in her home country and she fled with her sisters to Uganda, seeking refuge.
As children all around the United States are in their last days of school, counting down to summer vacation, there are refugee children across the world who are desperately hoping to get back to school and learning.
You are awesome. Your advocacy and collective voices made big change last month and that is awesome—you are awesome.
Last month, the FIRST EVER World Humanitarian Summit happened in Istanbul, Turkey. World leaders, organizations and advocates just like you traveled to talk about the importance of supporting those around the world living in conflict and/or the aftermath of emergencies.
