Education is a basic human right, yet 100 million children around the world are not enrolled in primary school. Lack of access to early education can destroy a community’s prospects of development, limits social and economic opportunities, and is a driving factor in the cycle of poverty.
Concern is committed to breaking this cycle by improving access to and quality of education for over 500,000 of the world’s most vulnerable men, women, and children – especially girls – through its education programs in 11 of the world’s poorest countries. By attending this year’s Winter Ball, you can make a very real contribution to Concern’s education initiatives in the communities we serve.
Concern’s approach targets the most vulnerable children, and engages community groups to improve access to and quality of education in both the formal and non-formal education sectors. Initiatives include:
- Construction and renovation of school buildings
- Promoting gender equality by encouraging girls to enroll and stay in school
- Providing textbooks and teaching materials
- Developing parent/teacher associations and school management committees
- Conducting teacher training
- Coordinating adult literacy and job training programs.
Take the case of South Sudan’s Aweil County. Education is highly prized there, yet only 6 percent of its more than 99,000 children are enrolled in school. The few schools in the area are makeshift structures that cannot withstand the annual rainy season. Classrooms do not have enough books or school supplies. Since the 2005 Sudan peace agreement, thousands of displaced families have returned to Aweil West, putting a much bigger strain on these makeshift schools.
Last year, Concern’s education program in Aweil helped build and furnish 40 permanent classrooms, and provided latrines and hand-washing stations in 25 schools. The program also provided training for teachers, and helped establish Parent Teacher Associations to build on the community’s strong support for education.
Now, teachers like Luka Athuai have classrooms with blackboards, and his students have books and supplies. “We teachers have been supplied with registers and stationery, which we rarely or never got,” he says. “We can now sit on chairs if we come to the office, whereas in the past we, like our students, had to sit on the floor.” With the support of Concern’s program, he is eager to continue his training and help the children of his community learn to read, write and build strong futures.
In the past year, Concern has also:
- Provided training and other support to over 8,000 teachers, school principals, school management committee members and relevant government staff, and built 17 new schools in its countries of operation
- Reached 143,429 children and adults directly through increased educational opportunities
- Reached 527,000 community members, children and adults through its education programs.
The worldwide education crisis remains one our foremost development challenges, and it will remain a focus of Concern’s efforts in 2008 and beyond. By attending the Winter Ball, you can join us in breaking the cycle of property in the world’s poorest countries by improving education.