You may have read somewhere that last week was International Literacy Day. To mark the occasion, USAID, the Education for All-Fast Track Initiative and the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution put on an impressive event with an important theme –- All Children Reading.
After we were all greeted by Bert and Ernie, USAID Administrator Raj Shah highlighted the main goal of USAID’s education strategy -– to improve the reading skills of 100 million children by 2015. Basic education, particularly teaching children to read in primary school, not only ensures children have a sturdy foundation upon which to learn, but also translates to improved health and economic growth in developing countries. No one in Congress is better at championing the importance of education for all children than Representative Nita Lowey, D-N.Y.
To mark International Literacy Day, Tererai Trent, PhD, Educator and Humanitarian, talks about the importance of education as a pathway out of poverty.
It began with a geography book. I was eight-years-old and excited to look at a book my brother had brought home from school. But when he opened the pages, nothing made sense to me. I cried, pleading with him to tell me what was in the book.
Today, as we mark International Literacy Day, I am reminded of the despair I felt 40 years ago, in a small village in Zimbabwe, living in the darkness of illiteracy.
“We believe this is a place of light and hope. We believe there is hope in perseverance,“ declared the pastor and headmaster of Mwangaza Tumaini.
Today the ONE Moms visited a school in Makuru, a slum in Nairobi, Kenya. This place of light and hope is also a place that reeks of raw sewage. The restrooms or latrines are built over, and empty into, the small stream that runs through the schoolyard. Rickety boards create a walkway over the flowing, filthy water.
Richard Adrien from RESULTS talks about a new report that highlights the systemic barriers faced by girls in education sectors around the world.
On July 12, RESULTS Educational Fund in partnership with the Global Campaign for Education released an innovative report, “Make it Right: Ending the Crisis in Girls Education,” which explores the systemic barriers that girls face once they are enrolled in school.
Make it Right takes a holistic approach to probe deeper into the legal, policy and budget frameworks needed to achieve gender equality and equity in education. It also provides key recommendations that the international community and global governments must heed in order to make education a reality for both boys and girls.
Greg Mortenson better watch out. The reporters from news program “60 Minutes,” the Montana police, his publisher Viking, and — yikes — “Into the Wild” author Jon Krakauer are painting him as the Bernie Maddoff of the humanitarian world.
Mortenson based his best-selling books “Stones into Schools” and “Three Cups of Tea” on his experience building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan — but it turns out that these projects aren’t as successful as he made them out to be. So, it’s no surprise that Mortenson, who was a major inspiration to me, is becoming less known for his school-building and more known about his scandal. And media attention for his work (or, in this case, alleged work) is crazier than it’s ever been.
Recently, I flew to Calcutta, India with an award-winning crew of filmmakers to document the compelling story of Project Rhino, an organization that is providing free education to children in Calcutta’s slums and villages. Our mission? Capture their story in four minutes.
Brown released this review of education funding worldwide in the hopes of fostering political leadership and international cooperation ahead of this week’s G8 in Deauville, France. While the unrest in North Africa is sure to top the agenda for the 18 heads of state and 2,500 delegation members meeting in Deauville, Brown’s report attempts to bring education back on the international development agenda.
ONE is campaigning to ensure that the Congressional budget does not cut foreign assistance programs like Feed the Future that help people break the cycle of poverty and hunger.
The Horn of Africa is experiencing its worst drought in 60 years. More than 11 million people, mostly nomadic pastoralists and farmers in south-central Somalia, north-eastern Kenya, and south-eastern Ethiopia, are severely lacking access to food.
2011 marks 30 years since the first cases of AIDS were documented. Take a closer look at the specific, achievable goals we must hit by 2015 to make this year the beginning of the end of AIDS.
As aid agencies warn more than 9 million people could be affected by a food crisis in East Africa, world leaders are failing to keep their 2009 promises to tackle the causes of chronic hunger and support farmers in the world's poorest countries.
To mark International Literacy Day, Tererai Trent, PhD, Educator and Humanitarian, talks about the importance of education as a pathway out of poverty.
