Each of the following organizations crosses borders and boundaries to bring quality education to every child. Many of them have lofty goals regarding global education, but many have earned a worldwide reputation for the work they have done to achieve these goals.
Association for Childhood Education International
The Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) is a worldwide community of educators and advocates for education reform. Their mission is “to promote and support in the global community the optimal education, development and well-being of children.” To achieve this, they host the Global Summit on Childhood and the Institute for Global Education Diplomacy. The Summit invites professionals to gather and discuss issues facing children and the state of childhood, from education to health and well-being. Through the Institute, tentatively scheduled for 2015, ACEI brings together diplomats and professionals in education to find solutions to the problems preventing children from receiving a suitable education.
Education International
A coalition of 30 million professionals in education representing 400 organizations in 170 countries and territories comprises Education International. Their goal is to promote quality education, equity in society and the interests of other education employees. As part of their campaign, they combat racism and xenophobia that prevents children from receiving a quality education. They challenge various kinds of discrimination, including exclusion on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, race and ethnic origin. They also reach out to other unions and global federations whose interests include furthering global education.
The Global Partnership for Education
The Global Partnership for Education (GPE) works in nearly 60 developing countries via a multilateral partnership that includes donor governments, international organizations and teachers. They hope to “galvanize and coordinate a global effort to deliver a good, quality education to all girls and boys, prioritizing the poorest and most vulnerable.” Along with their partners, they develop education strategies, promote collaboration in education, share solutions to challenges facing educators, finance the implementation of programs and monitor results and data to assess progress. Since its creation in 2002, the GPE states that they have aided in putting 22 million more children in school, increased literacy rates worldwide to 81 percent in 2010 and increased primary school completion to 75 percent in 2011. Since 2004 they have trained 300,000 teachers, built and equipped 53,000 classrooms and purchased and distributed 50 million textbooks.
Plan International
Founded more than 75 years ago, Plan International is one of the oldest and largest children’s development organizations in the world. Plan’s ideal world is one in which “all children realize their full potential in societies that respect people’s right and dignity.” They hope to gain lasting improvements in the quality of life of children in developing countries by uniting people across cultures. They aid deprived children, their families, and their communities by enabling them to meet their basic needs and building relationships to increase understanding amongst people of different cultures. In all of their endeavors, the rights of the world’s children take priority.
Save the Children
The goal of Save the Children is to promote global education and the rights of children around the world. To increase the quality of instruction and help ensure lasting education, Save the Children teaches effective teaching strategies to instructors and trains them to engage students. They coach parents and caregivers to help foster learning early on, and offer ways for parents to encourage schoolwork and continued learning outside of the classroom. They also hope to introduce children to artistic expression, encourage learning during and after crisis and invest in the health of children to ensure they don’t fall behind. In 2012, Save the Children reached 9 million children.
UNESCO
The United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization began in 1945 and is “committed to a holistic and humanistic vision of quality education worldwide, the realization of everyone’s right to education and the belief that education plays a fundamental role in human, social, and economic development.” Their mission is to aid in the building of peace, eradication of poverty and lasting development. They seek to achieve these goals and create an intercultural dialogue through global education. Their membership includes 204 countries, 9 of which are associate members.
UNICEF
Established in 1946, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund imagines a world in which the rights of every child are recognized. Their goals include reducing inequities and discrimination, fulfilling global education goals such as the 2 Millennium Goals that focus on education, achieving gender equality and equity in education, ensuring that every child has the opportunity to learn and continuing education during and after a crisis.
– Kristen Bezner
Sources: Association for Childhood Education International, Education International, The Global Partnership for Education, Plan International, Save the Children, UNESCO, UNICEF
Photo: Global Partnership for Education
Bread for the World: The Faith to End Hunger
Bread for the World, a Washington D.C. based nonprofit organization, is urging government leaders and communities of faith to end hunger.
Every day, around 16,000 children die from hunger related causes. 1.5 billion people live in extreme poverty in developing nations around the world, but developed nations are not exempt from the problem of hunger – nearly 15 percent of those living in the U.S. have struggled with food insecurity at some point in their life.
Motivated by the belief that ordinary people can do “plenty” to end global hunger, Bread for the World seeks to empower U.S. citizens to voice their support of hunger-fighting policies to their elected representatives. A bipartisan “collective Christian voice,” their network includes thousands of individuals, churches and denominations – therefore creating an impact that reaches far beyond their local communities.
After analyzing policy, Bread for the World creates strategies to move toward their ultimate goal – to end hunger at home and abroad. The movements they create within churches, campuses and other organizations help build political commitment to overcome poverty. Bread for the World accomplishes their work with integrity, earning a four star Charity Navigator rating and spending an impressive 82.9 percent of their budget on deliverable programs and services.
Bread for the World Institute, the educational wing of Bread for the World, exists to conduct extensive research on food policy and provide information to Bread for the World’s advocacy network. Their studies empower constituents with information to ultimately change the politics of hunger.
For 2014, Bread for the World is focusing its efforts on reforming U.S. food aid, calling for the economically powerful U.S. government to use their resources more efficiently and effectively. Bread for the World estimates that with improvements and changes, 17 million more people could benefit from food aid each year without any additional costs to taxpayers.
Find more information and extensive educational materials, visit www.bread.org.
– Madisson Barnett
Sources: Bread For the World, Charity Navigator
Photo: Food Tank
Transformation Through Loans
Ever heard of Whole Foods, Ben & Jerry’s or Starbucks? These fortune 500 companies all started out of generous individals’ belief in the store founders. This belief manifested in the form of financial investment and loans given to the companies that Americans know and love today.
The American dream promotes the idea that anyone, no matter the circumstance, can achieve success. Although there are many rags to riches stories built on hard work alone, Kiva International founder Jessica Jackley shared, “85% or more of funding for small businesses comes from friends and family.” One of the best gifts in life is to be recognized, valued and believed in by someone. Jackley holds this belief as her approach to eradicating global poverty and creating lasting change. Change, according to Jackley, happens not when we give to relieve our own suffering but when we give out of a “genuine hope in change.”
By providing small loans to farmers, seamstresses and goat herders abroad, among others, Kiva creates relationships between lenders and borrowers that promote respect and maintain dignity.
On the Kiva website there are stories featuring young entrepreneurs like Virginia in the Philippines who needs money to help buy fertilizer and insecticide for her rice production. Lenders can give one time loans in the amount of $25 to help borrowers like Virginia reach their goals.
Think of success stories like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. If no one had ever believed in or invested in those men we would have a very different world today.
Africa is host to millions of men and women that, if believed in and invested in have potential to better the world as well. Now, their requests are simple, such as buying another goat to make money to pay for their child’s education. That child, however, is another story to be believed in.
2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Dr. Muhammad Yunus is known for his pioneering of microfinance, or “financial services to low-income individuals or those who do not have access to typical banking services.” Yunus started what is known today as microfinance by lending money to poor women in Bangladesh in the 1970s.
Eventually, Yunus opened his first bank for the poor, Grameen Bank, meaning “rural,” or “village” in the Bangla language in 1983. The Grameen Bank is built on a structure that drastically opposes conventional bank norms. Yunus’ bank is majority owned by low-income women with no collateral or legal instrument. Rural borrowers own 90 percent of the banks shares whereas government owns only 10 percent.
With organizations and efforts like Kiva International and Grameen Bank, about 160 million people in developing countries are served through microfinance. (https://web.worldbank.org)
– Heather Klosterman
Sources: Business Pundit, Kiva
Photo: WordPress
Financial Reform Law in Bolivia
Last August, Bolivian President Evo Morales signed a bill that would reform the country’s financial sector. The reform bill has more than 550 articles and is expected to force the private sector banks in the country to become more competitive as interest rate ceilings and mandatory-lending quotas are implemented. The law will boost the competitiveness of state-owned bank Banco Unión and the many microfinance institutions operating in the region.
The reform is also intended to focus on financial inclusion and reducing economic inequality, an issue that is extremely important for Morales and his large indigenous following. The private banks in the region will need to become more efficient as well, but fortunately for the banks the Bolivian government has been implementing the changes gradually. It is unknown how much the reform will cut into the bank’s profitability.
During the last few years, however, Bolivia has enacted harsh taxes designed to reduce its “excess” profitability. The private banks’ average return on equity fell from 21% in 2007 to 17.5% in 2012, then to 14% in 2013. This latest dip came from the imposition of additional taxes on extraordinary earnings and a tax on exchanges related to foreign exchange.
The law also states that at least 60% of a bank’s loan portfolio should go to financing the productive and social sectors. This will be difficult for Bolivia’s banks, however, as they are currently focused on specific markets. Despite this new requirement, the government is giving the banks a period of two years to four years to implement it.
Another requirement states that the interest rate ceiling on loans for houses to be set at 5.5 to 6.5%, a figure that depends on the value of the house. Banks currently set the loan ceiling to a figure of 7 to 8%. This loan ceiling is designed to allow more people to be able to better afford a house and is a part of the movement towards more financial inclusion in Bolivia.
Bolivia’s private banks should be able to weather this new reform with continued profitability as the Bolivian economy is buoyed by its 6.5% growth rate in 2013 and its credit growth of 20%.
– Jeff Meyer
Sources: BNamericas, BNamericas, laRazon
Photo: The Telegraph
Violence Against LGBT Community in South Africa
In 1996, South Africa became the first in the world to provide constitutional protection for LGBT people. South Africa is also the only African country on the continent that recognizes same-sex marriage. Unfortunately, there is a rise in the attacks against the LGBT community, especially lesbians. These attacks against lesbians are known as corrective rape, which is when a man rapes a lesbian in thought that the action of rape will turn that person straight. One 26-year-old lesbian living in Cape Town stated that “Men do it because they hate what we are. The feel threatened by us.”
One example of corrective rape in South Africa was a five-hour-long brutal rape that consisted of beatings and strangling of a young lesbian by the name of Millicent Gaika. She survived the attack and her rapist Andile Ngcoza was arrested and found guilty for rape. Although, he was arrested his bail was set at six dollars and he escaped prosecution.
Another example of a LGBT hate crime occurred this year. David Olyn, a 21-year-old gay man was beaten with bricks and burned to death in South Africa, as a group of teens watched. Accordingly, the teens were not shocked at this behavior because this is something that is a weekly occurrence. Therefore, the teens did not tell authorities.
Due to these horrific events the United Nations has launched a program called Free the Equal in 2013. This program is an effort to create an education program aimed at promoting respect for the LGBT community in South Africa.
South Africa does have the best recognition for gay rights on the continent, but these brutal attacks and rapes are still on the rise. However, the South African government is taking steps to combat the hate crimes and violence. These steps include the proper training of officials for the LGBT community’s needs. A young woman in the South African LGBT community stated that “Lots of my friends have been raped for being a lesbian. It is not an unusual thing.” Furthermore, new laws are being implemented to send the message that hate crimes will not be tolerated in South Africa.
How can the United States help with the South African government’s aid in combating LGBT violence? The United States has been working with prosecutors for the past decade in legal protection for LGBT rights. The United States can lend a hand in the South Africa government by showing correct methods used for training and prosecution for the protection of the LGBT community in South Africa and also share the experience from the past in dealing with hate crimes.
– Rachel Cannon
Sources: Human Rights First, Human Rights Campaign
Photo: The Guardian
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Upon the founding of the United Nations, there was much discussion of the purpose of the organization. The founding years in the late 1940s were immediately following the horrors of World War II, and the representatives UN had made it a priority to set the world on a new path of peace. One of the mission documents for the attempted new world order was the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The document put forward some great ideals for the rest of the Twentieth Century, but there is still much work that has to be done to meet the goals of the Declaration.
The first sentence of the document describes “the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family.” That sentence gives a great amount of hope for the UN and its mission, yet for a reader over 65 years later, we see how far things still have to go. We see in a number of developing nations how women are still discriminated against, as well as religious and ethnic discrimination. The feelings after World War II might have given a sense of optimism, that those horrors would never come again, but that is one claim that the UN has yet to achieve.
The Declaration contains a pledge by the UN member nations that “in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms.” This statement, as part of a founding document for the UN, stands out when considering the situation in Syria. The UN has worked for the past three years to alleviate the plight of Syrians, yet there has been criticism from some of its own members. This pledge in the Declaration shows the need and responsibility the UN has to help in a situation of humanitarian plight.
Article three of the Declaration reads “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and the security of person.” Out of the many instances where this principle has not been upheld, the recent anniversary of the Rwandan genocide is one of the most egregious examples. The genocide of 1994 resulted in the death of almost a million Rwandans. The UN unfortunately did little to stop the killings, and after 20 years the genocide is still a large black mark on the international community.
Overall the Universal Declaration of Human Rights put forwards what we would all hope would be the best for the international community. It gives an idea of what the UN stands for, and while there have been a number of instances when the league has not held up to their lofty standards, the UN has carried out countless missions to help the impoverished. Hopefully they will learn from their slip-ups, however, and do more to accomplish their stated mission.
– Eric Gustafsson
Sources: UN, Youth for Human Rights
Photo: Encyclopædia Britannica
The Rising Middle Class in Latin America
When people are asked to picture Latin America, an image of poverty usually comes to mind. Yet while it is true that Latin America has historically been a region of high rates of poverty and income inequality, income inequality has in fact declined in 13 of 17 countries as measured by the Gini coefficient. The Gini coefficient is used to determine the level of income inequality in a country wherein a score of 0 is given to countries with complete equality (countries whose citizens have the same income) while a score of 1 is given to perfectly unequal countries (those in which one person owns all the income).
Recent data by the World Bank suggests that there has been a successful push to reduce poverty in the region, with the number of people living in extreme poverty (defined as those living on less than $2.50 a day) halved to 12.3 percent between 2003 and 2012. The largest proportion of the population, at 38 percent, includes those that are most vulnerable to falling back into poverty. This last part includes those making between $4-$10 a day. The middle class in Latin America is growing extremely rapidly at 34.3 percent of the population and is set to overtake the most vulnerable to become the largest segment of Latin America. The middle class is defined as the number of people who earn between $10-$50 a day.
Yet these numbers are a bit misleading. There continues to be a large degree of inequality between Latin Americans of different ethnicities. In Brazil, 76.4 percent of primary school children who are descended from Europeans are enrolled in school, while only 65.3 percent of indigenous or African children are enrolled. Similarly, in Chile 97 percent of families of European descent are enrolled in school, while 74.4 percent of children of indigenous or African descent are enrolled.
This is significant because as the middle class expands, it’s going to be able to expend more money on disposable goods and fuel economic growth. It will also be interesting to see what happens as the middle class demands more of a stake in the political process.
– Jeff Meyer
Sources: World Bank, IARIW
Photo: Not Adam and Steve
3 Innovative NGOs in Education
Education is one of the key weapons to combatting poverty around the world. Several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have come up with unique programs and solutions to allow greater access to education in developing countries.
1. Barefoot College was founded in 1972 in India and works to build skills in rural villages. The founders of Barefoot College wanted to apply traditional knowledge to modern day problems by teaching locals specialized skills. They believe that literacy is learned in school, but education is gained from “family, culture, environment and personal experiences, and both are important for individual growth.” Their entire campus is powered by solar energy, teaching the local community about sustainable energy. Barefoot College teaches the local community about modern technologies and women’s empowerment, to help them grow as human beings.
2. Room to Read was founded in 2002 to increase literacy and gender equality in Africa and Asia. This organization aims to improve the habit of reading among elementary school children and increase the number of girls who stay in school beyond elementary school. It has become one of the most well known international education programs, with 50 chapters in 16 countries. The organization relies on a model that creates programs to support girls financially and mentally, building new schools and libraries, and providing books. Since 2002, Room to Read has encouraged around 7.8 million children to read more.
3. Tostan was founded in 1991 and is dedicated to community development education and ending female genital cutting. Located in 8 African countries, this organization combines education and development goals in a “three year nonformal education program.” Instead of conforming to a standardized model of development, local communities can create own programs that suit their own needs. A facilitator is appointed to live and work with each rural community for three years, teaching them human rights concepts, health habits, reading and mathematics, project management and income generation ideas. Out of the democratically elected 17 members Community Management Committee, who carry out development projects, women must hold 9 of the positions. This ensures that the women in their community have their voices and problems heard. Since 1991, over 200,000 individuals have directly participated in Tostan.
– Sarah Yan
Sources: International Relations Online, Tostan
Photo: Tostan
10 Facts on Child Labor
Child labor is work that steals a child’s childhood. Defined in International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions, child labor is work that children should not be involved in given their age, or – if that child is old enough – work that is too dangerous and unsuitable.
Forcing children to take part in often dangerous and strenuous work and preventing them from attending school, child labor stands in the way of a child’s healthy physical and mental development in addition to his or her education.
In some cases children are enslaved laborers, engaged in the agricultural, mining and manufacturing sectors, or in domestic service, subsequently pushed into homelessness and living on the streets. However, others are trafficked and enslaved in prostitution, or forced into armed combat as child soldiers. These are all forms of child labor; the latter qualifying as some of the worst forms of child labor given that such bondage is especially harmful and in direct violation of a child’s human rights. Child labor is a continuing global phenomenon and following are some shocking, but important, facts regarding the practice.
Important Facts about Child Labor
So why are some children forced into labor?
Poverty is the most often cited reason why children work. Pressured to provide food and shelter, as well as to pay off debt owed by the parents, some children have no other choice but to become involved in labor in order to support their families. However, some children are sold against their will and forced into slavery. Other factors that influence whether children work or not include barriers to education and inadequate enforcement of legislation protecting children.
Child labor is a complex issue, as are the solutions, but the following steps must continue to be pushed for in order to see further progress. First and foremost, child labor laws must be enforced. Another strategy would be to reduce poverty in these areas so as to limit the need for children to be forced into these situations. Finally, providing access to quality education ensures that each child has a chance for a better future.
– Rachel Cannon
Sources: UNICEF 1, International Justice Mission, UNICEF 2, International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour, International Labour Organization, UN 1, UN 2
Photo: Flickr
7 Organizations Supporting Global Education
Each of the following organizations crosses borders and boundaries to bring quality education to every child. Many of them have lofty goals regarding global education, but many have earned a worldwide reputation for the work they have done to achieve these goals.
Association for Childhood Education International
The Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) is a worldwide community of educators and advocates for education reform. Their mission is “to promote and support in the global community the optimal education, development and well-being of children.” To achieve this, they host the Global Summit on Childhood and the Institute for Global Education Diplomacy. The Summit invites professionals to gather and discuss issues facing children and the state of childhood, from education to health and well-being. Through the Institute, tentatively scheduled for 2015, ACEI brings together diplomats and professionals in education to find solutions to the problems preventing children from receiving a suitable education.
Education International
A coalition of 30 million professionals in education representing 400 organizations in 170 countries and territories comprises Education International. Their goal is to promote quality education, equity in society and the interests of other education employees. As part of their campaign, they combat racism and xenophobia that prevents children from receiving a quality education. They challenge various kinds of discrimination, including exclusion on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, race and ethnic origin. They also reach out to other unions and global federations whose interests include furthering global education.
The Global Partnership for Education
The Global Partnership for Education (GPE) works in nearly 60 developing countries via a multilateral partnership that includes donor governments, international organizations and teachers. They hope to “galvanize and coordinate a global effort to deliver a good, quality education to all girls and boys, prioritizing the poorest and most vulnerable.” Along with their partners, they develop education strategies, promote collaboration in education, share solutions to challenges facing educators, finance the implementation of programs and monitor results and data to assess progress. Since its creation in 2002, the GPE states that they have aided in putting 22 million more children in school, increased literacy rates worldwide to 81 percent in 2010 and increased primary school completion to 75 percent in 2011. Since 2004 they have trained 300,000 teachers, built and equipped 53,000 classrooms and purchased and distributed 50 million textbooks.
Plan International
Founded more than 75 years ago, Plan International is one of the oldest and largest children’s development organizations in the world. Plan’s ideal world is one in which “all children realize their full potential in societies that respect people’s right and dignity.” They hope to gain lasting improvements in the quality of life of children in developing countries by uniting people across cultures. They aid deprived children, their families, and their communities by enabling them to meet their basic needs and building relationships to increase understanding amongst people of different cultures. In all of their endeavors, the rights of the world’s children take priority.
Save the Children
The goal of Save the Children is to promote global education and the rights of children around the world. To increase the quality of instruction and help ensure lasting education, Save the Children teaches effective teaching strategies to instructors and trains them to engage students. They coach parents and caregivers to help foster learning early on, and offer ways for parents to encourage schoolwork and continued learning outside of the classroom. They also hope to introduce children to artistic expression, encourage learning during and after crisis and invest in the health of children to ensure they don’t fall behind. In 2012, Save the Children reached 9 million children.
UNESCO
The United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization began in 1945 and is “committed to a holistic and humanistic vision of quality education worldwide, the realization of everyone’s right to education and the belief that education plays a fundamental role in human, social, and economic development.” Their mission is to aid in the building of peace, eradication of poverty and lasting development. They seek to achieve these goals and create an intercultural dialogue through global education. Their membership includes 204 countries, 9 of which are associate members.
UNICEF
Established in 1946, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund imagines a world in which the rights of every child are recognized. Their goals include reducing inequities and discrimination, fulfilling global education goals such as the 2 Millennium Goals that focus on education, achieving gender equality and equity in education, ensuring that every child has the opportunity to learn and continuing education during and after a crisis.
– Kristen Bezner
Sources: Association for Childhood Education International, Education International, The Global Partnership for Education, Plan International, Save the Children, UNESCO, UNICEF
Photo: Global Partnership for Education
Who is my Congressman?
Have you ever wondered who speaks on behalf of the voters for the area you live in? There may be a number of issues that citizens are passionate about and even push for bills supporting their causes to be passed. So the real question, then, becomes who is my congressman? Who is designated to speak on behalf of myself and neighbors of those in power to change what is going on?
It is a question that should be asked by every young adult registering to vote and even veteran voters that may not be as conscious of the person currently representing them in office. Sure, we see their names on papers, maybe even in emails, but many times that is where it stops. So when you ask yourself who your congressman is, you may not be able to answer further than a name on a sheet of paper.
The Congress is made up of 100 U.S. Senators and 435 U.S. Representatives in the House of Representatives. The number of representatives for any state depends on the population, not the size. For example, there are 27 representatives for the state of Florida, compared to the 7 representatives for Alabama.
Congress makes up the federal government alongside the President. Both branches determine how much funding goes to programs ranging from healthcare to programs related to living conditions of the world’s poor. That means that members of the congress play a very important role in the lives of people around the world.
Members of the House of Representatives are commonly referred to as Congressmen or Congresswomen. Each representative is responsible for a district in your state depending on how many representatives you have. States with larger populations, like New York, will likely have different representatives for neighboring cities and areas.
It is important to educate yourself on who will be representing you in the federal government. Regardless of how we may feel about a particular representative, these individuals are selected to speak on behalf of “the people.” Not only do they represent the voters of their respective states, but they stand for whatever changes voters wish to enact and even stop.
Just as Congress has a heavy influence on U.S. funding, citizens have just as much influence on members of congress in their respectable districts. When asked who my Congressman is, I answer with confidence, Representative Ron Desantis, Republican.
– Janelle Mills
Sources: The Borgen Project, EDHP
Photo: Wall Street Daily