Archive for category: Education

Information and stories on education.

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International Theatre Project Inspires Children   

Education is an essential tool to guide the next generation and prepare them for success. In South Africa and Rwanda, education is vital, and a good portion of government spending goes toward education. In 2013, South Africa invested 19.7% of its national budgets toward education, while Rwanda invested 11%. Both South Africa and Rwanda recognize that education impacts the success of their citizens. A mode of education that can transform the way children learn is through theater. The International Theatre Project aspires to teach children in South Africa and Rwanda the building blocks of theater to ignite their confidence. Teaching theater in Africa can produce a new generation of leaders who are passionate about their heritage.

What is the International Theatre Project?

 The International Theatre Project began as a test to see how new programs would impact students. In 2005, two professionals experienced in theater arts, Stephen DiMenna and Marianna Houston, decided to conduct their project in Tanzania with 21 pupils. DiMenna and Houston had the students write a play in English and perform the piece for their community. The play reflected the students’ aspirations for the future. Producing the piece had a profound impact on the students. The 21 pupils who worked on the project tended to score higher on English exams than their peers. Seeing the positive impact of theater on young students, DiMenna and Houston returned the following year, thereby founding the International Theatre Project.

Since then, the International Theatre Project has held programs in Ethiopia, Indonesia, Rwanda, South Africa and India. The students who participate in the programs often lack opportunities in education, and poverty presents even more barriers. According to the International Theatre company, 90% of their students continue their education into college, 80% of students have job opportunities after graduating high school, 100% score higher on their English exams and 100% are inspired to educate others in their communities. The company’s most recent accomplishment is having students perform their original piece in Cape Town, South Africa. A former ITP alumnus, Calvin from Tanzania, states how his experience with ITP, “…gave me the confidence to be more than I think I can be. I can deliver and I never knew that before.”

Programs Offered by ITP

Since its founding, the International Theatre Company has developed several unique programs. For instance, Rising Voices is a program specifically for teaching theater in Africa. Students in this program have the opportunity to write and perform their own pieces. If a student has been with the program for more than four years, they can participate in Leading Acts, where they become mentors for other students. The International Theatre Project also has two opportunities based in New York. Open Doors is a program where recent immigrants can develop the skills necessary to adjust to a new way of life. Alternatively, the Stefan Nowicki Camp Treetops Scholarship Program provides two ITP students from South Africa or Rwanda to participate in a seven-week summer camp held in upstate New York. All four of these programs create ways for children to learn theater as well as develop their leadership skills.

Why Theater Education is Beneficial

Theater emphasizes freedom of expression, and through that expression, one can benefit immensely.  According to a psychological study written by Sydney Walker, there are many advantages students gain by participating in theater. For one, students improve their self-esteem through participation and self-expression. When interacting with others in the theater, students can connect on a deeper level and create an outlet for their emotions. Theatre also allows students to identify conflicts and create resolutions.

Teaching theater in Africa presents students with a new way to learn and participate in their communities. Furthermore, it allows students to create relationships with one another and communicate their own emotions. Organizations like the International Theatre Project create ways for theater to be shared and taught to anyone, regardless of their circumstances.

– Brooke Young
Photo: Unsplash

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The Impact of Education on Poverty in Uganda

education in uganda
Education has an incredible impact on poverty all over the world. When ways to grow and develop become available, poverty decreases. For education in Uganda, the story is no different. While income inequality, gender disparity and regional issues come between many Ugandans and improving their lives, many have used education to push themselves into brighter futures. Through governmental improvements, private school options, and the sheer desire of the Ugandan people for education, progress is being made.

Public Education

In 1997, Uganda implemented the Universal Primary Education Policy, which waived the fees for any student attending the first seven years of school— primary 1 to primary 7. Attendance remained voluntary, and the parents still needed to provide important supplies for the students and labor to build the schoolhouses. Even so, primary school attendance increased 145% in the first six years after the policy was put in place. The program expanded to include secondary education in 2007. The increase in attendance is a testament to the desire for education in Uganda.

According to Lawrence Bategeka and Nathan Okurut— analysts in Kampala, Uganda— “The UPE programme in Uganda demonstrates that a poor country with a committed government and donor support can fight poverty through ensuring universal access to education for its citizens.” Unfortunately, the UPE had limited impact on poverty. According to John Ekaju, “this ‘UPE centric’ approach ignored the precarious situation of the large number of illiterate children, youths and adults.” He recommends that the policy be reevaluated. He predicts that improved higher education could half the poverty rates.

Secondary and Higher Education

Education in Uganda is incredibly competitive. Rigorous tests after primary school determine secondary education opportunities. Often times, this results in schools choosing the best students in order to “improve their grade average and national standing.”

While attendance has improved in Uganda’s public education, the quality of the actual education has not. Because there are more students than resources, teachers often have 100 children per class and not nearly enough materials or space. With this many students, teachers burn out quickly, and students lack the individualized instruction that has the greatest effect. This means that students who want a good education must turn to expensive private schools.

Private Education

Boarding schools and private schools offer higher quality education to the families who can afford it. These schools often have better teachers who can offer more individualized time with students. While this is a positive alternative for some families, those stuck in poverty are left on the outside.

According to Transforming Uganda, because many families live on less than $2 a day and “typical annual primary school required costs range from $50 to $150 for day schools,” many families cannot feasibly afford to send their children to these schools. According to the Initiative for Social and Economic Rights, the fees that the private schools require are “bound to result in discrimination by keeping more children out of school, particularly those from low income households.”

Though improvement has begun, Uganda’s educational fight is far from over. In order to close the gap, better education and more opportunities need to arise. As the education in Uganda improves, poverty will decrease and more people will feel empowered to take control of their futures.

– Abigail Lawrence
Photo: Flickr

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Companies Providing AI Tutoring in Africa

AI Tutoring in Africa
With AI technology exploding as a form of aid and disaster relief in developing countries, innovative ways to de-escalate education poverty are underway in Africa’s most vulnerable regions. One of the most prominent issues affecting impoverished African societies is a lack of education. In 2014, The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) published a report stating that “more than 7 in 10 African countries don’t have enough teachers.”Accompanied by a rising population of children who need schooling, Africa as a whole has an 86.1 pupil to qualified teacher ratio. With poverty rife throughout the continent and education prioritized for young children, Africa will require an estimated 17 million teachers by 2030, yet the means to find and educate qualified adults to teach is lacking. So where does AI technology come into play? Two major companies, Daptio and Eneza, are closing the gaps with computer programs and adaptive learning to make AI tutoring in Africa a widespread resource.

Daptio

After realizing that the University of South Africa only had a 15% annual pass rate, Daptio founder Tabitha Bailey saw a need for full-scale reform. With no human teachers available, Bailey looked to “cloud-based adaptive learning,” an AI classroom software that adapts to the needs of an individual student – almost like the Khan Academy of Africa.

Bailey launched Daptio in 2013 in Cape Town, South Africa. Described by its founder as “the first content agnostic adaptive learning platform in Africa,” Daptio is also unique in its partnerships with content creators that provide the learning tools for South African students. Daptio is not just an online learning platform; rather, the software learns the education level and knowledge of the student and gathers content from various creators to best accommodate the student.

The platform is largely structured on video learning, with individual sections for students, teachers and content creators. It also adapts to students who do not have access to stable data connectivity to watch videos.

Eneza and TeachMobile

Based out of Ghana, AI tutoring software Eneza Education has developed a web-based education program that provides on-call teachers for students online. Individual teachers operate TeachMobile but receive aid from AI in similarly assessment-based computer programming. The software is complete with learning materials and lessons for any teachers to access, and the platform similarly assesses a student’s abilities so that it can tailor coursework to their needs.

TeachMobile is also unique in its availability to students. With only one physical teacher available for approximately 86 African students, on-call virtual teachers are available via chat through an Ask-A-Teacher setting. The software is also useful for teachers to connect and share resources with each other via social messaging.

After laying its footing in Ghana, Eneza and TechMobile have expanded to Kenya and the Ivory Coast with plans to keep growing. Over 6 million people have used Eneza since its beginnings, and Eneza’s programs have shown a “23 percent improvement in academic performance after learning with Eneza Education for nine months.”

Effectiveness and Future Plans

Extensive research and study of Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITSs) and AI tutoring at the University of Michigan have shown that computer-based, adaptive learning is highly effective. With more patience and time than a normal human teacher, the ITSs can be beneficial to both students and teachers and can more accurately gauge a student’s individual needs.

For now, AI tutoring in Africa is still in its infancy. However, with the beneficial track record of web-based learning laying the foundation for children across the continent, AI tutoring in Africa can hopefully assist in bringing advanced education to impoverished communities across the continent.

– Grace Ganz
Photo: Wikipedia Commons

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Learn About Poverty in Chad

Poverty in Chad
Located in Central Africa, the country of Chad is the fifth largest landlocked state and has a poverty rate of 42%. With a total population of approximately 15.5 million, a lack of modern medicine, dramatic weather changes and poor education have riddled the country with deadly diseases and resulted in severe poverty in Chad.

Poor Health Conditions in Chad Lead to Disease

The most common types of disease and the primary causes of death include malaria, respiratory infections and HIV/AIDS. Malaria, usually spread through mosquito bites, is a potentially fatal disease and is quite common in the country of Chad. Due to poor sanitation, Chadians are more susceptible to malaria; the most recently estimated number of cases was 500,000 per year.

Along with malaria, lower respiratory diseases contribute to Chad’s high mortality rate – the most common and deadliest of those being meningitis. Lower respiratory tract infections occur in the lungs and can sometimes affect the brain and spinal cord. A lack of available vaccinations in the country has increased susceptibility to meningitis. Meningitis is most deadly in those under the age of 20, and with a countrywide median age of 16.6 years old, Chad has seen a rise in total meningitis cases and overall deaths.

As of 2015, there were an estimated 210,000 Chadians living with HIV. According to UNAIDS, there were 12,000 AIDS-related deaths just last year, along with 14,000 new cases. Those living with HIV/AIDS are at a higher risk of death with their compromised immune systems. They are unable to fight off diseases and, with the preexisting severe risk of malaria and meningitis, they are more susceptible to death.

Harsh Weather and its Role in Food Insecurity and Disease

Due to its geography, Chad is one of the countries most severely affected by environmental challenges. Approximately 40% of Chadians live at or below the poverty line, with the majority relying heavily on agricultural production and fishing. The drastic change in rain patterns and the consequent frequency of droughts have placed a significant strain on their food supply. Fishing in particular has been sparse. Lake Chad, the country’s largest lake, has diminished by 90% in the past 50 years. The rising temperatures in Chad have caused a decrease in both crop yields and good pasture conditions, placing more strain on those who depend on Lake Chad for food and the nutrients it adds to farming.

In addition to affecting poverty in Chad, intense weather patterns have also increased the number of infectious diseases. The infrastructure of the country has not been able to keep up with the rapidly growing population in urban areas. This results in poor sanitation. The sanitation services are overwhelmed during floods, which contaminates the water supply.

Lack of Education Affects Poverty in Chad

Despite the relatively large population, less than half of school-aged children attend school. With attendance rates so low, the literacy rates in individuals between the ages of 15 and 24 fall; currently, they only reach 31%. According to UNICEF, attendance rates are astonishingly low; 8% for children in upper secondary school and 13% for lower secondary school. With education rates so low, income inequality, infant and maternal deaths and stunting in children continue to rise; as a result, the overall economic growth of the country declines.

Enrollment is low in Chad due to the lack of resources in schools. With the country in severe poverty, schools remain under-resourced, both in access and infrastructure. Some schools have no classrooms and no teaching materials. Furthermore, students often outnumber teachers 100:1. As a result, the quality of learning decreases, as does the overall attendance rate.

As of now, only 27% of primary-school-age children complete their schooling. According to UNESCO, if adults in low-income countries completed their secondary education, the global poverty rate would reduce by half. Even learning basic reading skills could spare approximately 171 million people from living in extreme poverty. Educated individuals are more likely to develop important skills and abilities needed to help them overcome poverty. Education also decreases an individual’s risk of vulnerability to disease, natural disasters and conflict.

Poverty in Chad is widespread, and the rate of impoverished people will continue to grow if it is not addressed. Poor health conditions and a lack of education are just a few of the many problems people face; while the living conditions may seem dire in Chad, a gradual decrease in overall poverty rates proves that there is hope.

– Jacey Reece
Photo: Flickr

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Planting Trees of Knowledge: A Way to Make Education Accessible

Trees of KnowledgeSub-Saharan Africa continues to face high rates of education exclusion. Across the region, nearly 34 million children do not attend school due to inadequate funding, geographical distance and lack of educational staff. Children living in impoverished areas often have treacherous commutes to school and may experience teacher absenteeism upon arrival. Other children cannot attend school because they must work to support their family or tend to their livestock and land. Trees of Life is working to address the issues limiting access to education.

Education Challenges in Zimbabwe

In countries like Zimbabwe, the problem is pronounced. Most children in Zimbabwe receive primary education but only 49% of high-school-aged Zimbabweans attend secondary school. Furthermore, economic challenges have tightened funding for public and boarding schools, causing a steep increase in the cost of attendance. As a result, communities have taken to creating make-shift alternative schools run by locals to save on expenses. These schools remain unregistered in order to avoid fees and therefore do not undergo government inspections.

These challenges, however, are not unique to Zimbabwe. There is an urgent need to improve access to education in many communities throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. Experts have suggested that the implementation of technology into educational services may be a more cost-effective route than building physical infrastructure. Additionally, much of the population has access to basic smartphones or mobile devices. In fact, Sub-Saharan Africa is the world’s fastest-growing region in terms of smartphone adoption, estimating an addition of 167 million subscribers by 2025.

However, inconsistent and expensive data coverage as well as limited electricity for charging limits internet connectivity for many devices. Zimbabwean AI expert and entrepreneur, William Sachiti, has recently taken up this challenge with an idea for improving access not only to the internet but also to educational tools in rural areas. The project is entitled Trees of Knowledge, which reflects the common practice of gathering under the shade of a tree for class.

Technological Solutions

The Trees of Knowledge technology allows a tree or other landmark to broadcast a Wi-Fi signal. Any device within a 100-meter radius can connect to the network and access a pre-loaded server of educational content. The signal is produced by a micro-computer molded into the tree to protect it from damage. The module is powered by a small rechargeable battery that can run for several years without maintenance. The system also includes a solar-powered charging station that users can plug their devices into.

Any content can be uploaded to the educational server, but Sachiti hopes to eventually transition toward including lessons from local educators, making the content specific to each region. This would allow teachers to work with each country’s department of education to ensure that the curriculum is appropriate.

Trees of Knowledge has the potential to improve educational opportunities for rural and excluded communities. This highly integrated solution could mitigate long commutes to school, which can span from five to 1o kilometers. The system provides access to educational content as well as guidance for those unfamiliar with these new resources. As an open-source technology with no patents or intellectual property regulations, the logistics behind Trees of Knowledge are available to be shared and replicated. Since its publication in 2019, several large NGOs in Africa have picked up the idea.

Future Steps

The concept behind Trees of Knowledge is highly adaptable and can be applied to other uses. Similar technologies have recently been implemented by some national parks and nature preserves, who are using interactive digital programs to teach visitors about the ecology of an area. In rural communities, this technology could provide tutorials on first-aid skills, health and hygiene. On remote trails or routes, it may be used to offer critical safety information and orientation.

By removing the obstacles of cost, data coverage and power consumption, Trees of Knowledge is a highly sustainable idea aligned with the goal of minimizing climate change and habitat destruction. This new technology can provide a variety of educational resources by seamlessly integrating into the environment, yet leaving it unchanged.

– Sylvie Antal
Photo: Wikimedia

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Education Development in Burkina Faso

Education in Burkina Faso
Frequent terrorist attacks since 2016 have impacted many sectors in Burkina Faso, especially education. The high cost of education prevents many in poverty from going to school. This is particularly true for girls, as parents are more likely to prioritize the education of their sons. Education remains a challenge for the West African country since Burkina Faso’s education spending relies heavily on aid. Furthermore, violence in the Sahel region displaced more than 765,000 people and caused more than 2,000 schools to close in March 2020. School closures continue to affect about 300,000 students and 11,000 teachers. Although recent violence has impacted education in Burkina Faso, organizations are stepping up to provide aid.

Education to Reduce Poverty

An educated society helps reduce poverty. Burkina Faso has a poverty rate of 40.1% and affordable education could benefit its people. Affordable education could also improve the country’s poor infrastructure and communication. Further benefits include the diversification of knowledge, allowing individuals to better change the world around them. All these benefits encouraged the OPEC to sign a loan of $20 million to Burkina Faso in support of its education development in 2019. A reported 18,500 on-campus University of Ouagadougou students will benefit from expanded facilities.

The loan also helps the government finance its Agricultural Value Chain Support Project, which focuses on poverty reduction and agricultural productivity. Director-General of the OPEC Fund Dr. Abdulhamid Alkhalifa said, “Ensuring inclusive and quality education for all – and promoting lifelong learning – is a fundamental ingredient to sustainable development. To see such a project come to life is inspiring and I believe this university will enable many people – young and old – to play a role in advancing the development of Burkina Faso, and more generally, in contributing toward a more equal global society.”

Improvements in Girls’ Education

Education for children continues to improve although the achievement gap between boys and girls still remains large. For females age 15 to 24, the literacy rate is only 33% in contrast to a 47% rate for boys in the same age range. In the Sahel region, girls’ education is particularly grim. Girls are two times more likely to drop out of primary school than their female counterparts nationally. About half of the girls in the Sahel region are married and give birth before the age of 19. This has created a high-drop out rate of around 30% during the final year of lower secondary school. If tests are not taken during this time, girls cannot move up to upper secondary school, both of which are barriers to furthering education for girls.

In response to these conditions, Education Cannot Wait provides emergency aid to countries without access to proper education. Education Cannot Wait, hosted by UNICEF, allocated $6 million in July 2019 to help children in the Sahel region. This came as a response to the widespread violence in the region that affected 2.3 million children. The organization provides emergency education assistance throughout the world, benefiting 187,000 children through its assistance. Its goals in the Sahel region for 2020 include constructing and rehabilitating classrooms for about 41,000 children who are out of school, distributing learning material for 94,000 children and mobilizing 83,000 community members to help support secure learning environments.

The 12-month plan also includes hygiene promotion, which includes menstrual hygiene management for more than 68,000 students. Sexual violence against women, child marriage and exploitation in the region are common, so a safe environment, such as a school, can help provide safety to student girls and female teachers in spite of the recent violence.

Moving Forward

Education remains of vital importance to a country’s wellbeing, both socially and economically. Burkina Faso continues to experience widespread violence, yet aid from outside the country is helping provide education to children and adults. However, more can be done to not only improve education but also increase economic development. Continued efforts are needed to reduce poverty and improve education in Burkina Faso.

– Lucas Schmidt
Photo: Flickr

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5 Influences on Poverty in the Dominican Republic

Poverty in the Dominican Republic
When one thinks about the Dominican Republic, one may typically picture the beaches of Punta Cana or other tropical vacation destinations. Although the Dominican Republic has a strong and fast economic growth rate within the Latin American and Caribbean regions, the largest income group is a vulnerable set of individuals who have a high probability of falling back into poverty. In 2008, the national poverty rate was roughly 34% in the Dominican Republic. The national poverty rate fell to 21% in 2019. However, much more progress must occur in order for the people of the Dominican Republic to escape poverty. Here are five main influences on poverty in the Dominican Republic.

5 Influences on Poverty in the Dominican Republic

  1. Lack of Quality Education: Young children and women do not have equal access to education in the Dominican Republic. About 36% of students do not finish their basic education. Many children who drop out are from the poorest areas of the country. They have to stop their education in order to help their families by working to earn money. In 2018, a total of 65,825 students were not in school. This pivotal setback will limit equal opportunities and their development. In order for the Dominican Republic to attain a positive economic turnaround, there must be an improvement in quality education. Since 2013, the government has increased its GDP spending on education and joined the World Bank’s Human Capital Project in order to get input about the improvement of human capital.
  2. Socioeconomic Inequality: One cause of poverty in the Dominican Republic is unemployment. The employment rate of women is 33% in comparison to 61% of males in the workforce. Women are at a disadvantage due to the absence of education. Oftentimes women leave education in order to take care of the family and household. Even if women are in the work field, they are underpaid in comparison to men. The average pay for women was 79% of what men make.
  3. Lack of Sanitation: About one-fifth of citizens live in shacks without access to running water, electricity and proper sanitation. Although the country made an effort to increase access to sanitation services, this does not correlate with improved living conditions and quality. Many do not have equal access to quality infrastructure, which shows an increase in poverty. According to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the consumption of contaminated water led to severe diarrhea, which caused 50% of deaths in children under the age of 1. The World Bank Group helped restore water treatment facilities in Santo Domingo and Santiago. This led to more than 1 million gallons of drinking water for around 750,000 people. It also launched a project for wastewater treatment plants to help facilitate sanitation. The improvement of irrigation systems and clean water led to the improvement of local farms.
  4. Natural Hazards: The Dominican Republic suffers from natural disasters, which include earthquakes, flooding, hurricanes and droughts. Natural disasters have negatively affected a quarter of the country’s population. Many buildings and homes are vulnerable to natural disasters due to a lack of enforcing proper building and zoning codes. Increased flooding due to climate change will lead to economic loss within the country. It is difficult for the government to produce aid for families and businesses burdened by natural disasters. In 2017, Hurricanes Maria and Irma brought high winds, flooding and landslides that devastated the country. These hurricanes caused major property damage due to the creation of strong storm surges along the coastline. Luckily, the death toll was not high from these hurricanes. However, the storms caused major damage to physical communities and left many without power, water and sanitation. The Dominican Red Cross responds to disasters where it has relief protocols in order to support the country. It distributed relief packages to more than 2,000 families that Hurricane Irma affected.
  5. Crime: Violence and criminal activity led to a downfall in the country’s wealth equality. Although the Dominican Republic’s gross domestic product continues to rise, different communities do not have equal funding. Higher crime rates lead to disproportionality of wealth. These poverty-stricken communities lack protection. This can lead to individuals living in extreme poverty in the Dominican Republic.

Looking Ahead

The Dominican Republic is capable of reducing poverty in the next 10 years, but it must make major improvements. In order to end poverty in the Dominican Republic, representatives must improve the quality of education, health care services and employment through the implementation of policies that help the most vulnerable individuals. The country needs to make positive economic changes by increasing human capital and the business environment, improving the management of natural disasters and climate change and maintaining natural resources. These five influences on poverty in the Dominican Republic show that there needs to be policy changes in order to reshape the inequalities within the country.

– Ann Ciancia
Photo: Flickr

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7 Facts About Education and Poverty in South Sudan

Poverty in South Sudan
Following nearly 50 years of civil war, the newly divided countries of Sudan and South Sudan remain in ongoing economic recovery. Although conflict sets the stage for poverty in South Sudan, the young country’s lack of educational opportunities perpetuates the problem. As of 2017, a jarring 72% of primary school-aged children in South Sudan do not attend school. Of these 2 million children, 400,000 are out of school due to displacement and chronic insecurity. Here are seven facts about education and poverty in South Sudan.

7 Facts About Education and Poverty in South Sudan

  1. More educational funding would reduce youth crime involvement. It is no secret that a quality education prevents crime activity among any youth population. However, extreme poverty in South Sudan compromises the quality of most of the country’s schools. The absence of extracurricular club offerings contributes to an ongoing cycle of violence in South Sudan. On the other hand, schools that UNICEF funded benefitted from student governments, peace clubs and organized volunteer activities. UNICEF also funded the South Sudan Youth Development Policy, which the government of South Sudan later developed. These programs effectively build peace and reduce youth crime in strained communities. More widespread funding for such programs would further prevent youth violence and armed conflict.
  2. Sudan’s distinct educational tracks limit the number of qualified teachers. To account for the poverty most school-aged children experience, South Sudan implemented an alternative education system. In an effort to reduce the long-term cost of education, this system condenses an eight-year curriculum into a four-year program. This program instructs students in English, which excludes many qualified teachers who received training to teach in Arabic. Although this program is more accessible, this exclusion compromises the quality of education students can gain.
  3. Children cannot physically attend one-third of schools in South Sudan. Long-standing political conflicts in South Sudan have damaged and destroyed over one-third of schools. These schools rely on the assistance of foreign aid organizations, such as USAID, in order to redevelop into functional institutions. USAID alone has provided more than 514,800 conflict-affected children with makeshift learning spaces since 2014.
  4. Poverty-ridden families rely on agricultural work. Many school-aged children in rural South Sudan raise cattle in pastoral communities rather than attending school. A 2013 study found that parents in cattle-keeping communities valued practical skills (such as cattle treatment and milk production) over formal education. Since agricultural income accounts for a child’s immediate needs, many families do not see formal education as a practical option. Because funding for schools often relies on attendance and retention rates, funding falls particularly low in pastoral, non-urban areas. While the education sector itself does not prioritize this problem, donors like USAID and FAO fund more flexible education options for pastoral communities.
  5. Girls have to overcome more obstacles to obtain an education. Young women living in poverty often drop out of school to pursue arranged marriages because of financial, cultural and religious obligations. As a result, only one-sixth of women are literate in comparison to two-fifths of men. However, children born to educated mothers have a 50% higher chance of survival. In turn, prioritizing young women’s education and literacy is vital. Though more work is necessary to enroll more girls in school, donor initiatives such as DFID’s Girls’ Education South Sudan (GESS) have brought more attention to the issue.
  6. Socioeconomic disparities impact access to education and future employment. In a study by Learning for Peace, representatives expressed that nepotism and tribalism often determine access to education, training opportunities and jobs. This results in unequal opportunities across states, which increases tension within the youth population. One youth representative said that “Youth who have their relatives in those places, they have those opportunities [and] it creates a gap […]. This brings conflict […], especially as a young country which has come out of war, where people have many expectations to get money to sustain themselves.” The concentration of opportunities in particular states, such as Juba, affects the cycle of poverty in South Sudan.
  7. Inclusive learning requires more funding. The government of South Sudan invests minimally in the development of education. This lack of resources prevents the implementation of an inclusive education curriculum based on the language of instruction (Arabic or English) and curriculum content (Christian or secular). Curriculum development at the state level is slowly establishing a more inclusive national identity for students in South Sudan, though more work is necessary at the county level. Such work will further increase the inclusion of different religions, cultures and histories in South Sudan’s schools.

Ultimately, funding education in South Sudan could revive the country’s economy and, more importantly, ensure that more children survive. It is imperative to support the 2 million children who cannot afford an education or who lack access to well-funded schools. In order to help break the cycle of poverty in South Sudan, foreign aid and other investments must provide much-needed educational resources.

– Stella Grimaldi
Photo: Flickr

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The Fight Against Poverty in Fiji

Poverty in Fiji
The island of Fiji is located in the South Pacific Ocean and has a population of more than 895,000. A vibrant native population traverses the tropical climate of Fiji. The economy is dependent on agricultural products and tourism. Farmers cultivate bananas, cocoa, pineapple and taro root to supplement trade between nations, and commercial fishing and sugarcane are similarly important exports. Despite the high amount of trade between bordering islands and nations, 28% of native Fijians live below the national poverty line. Here is some information about poverty in Fiji and efforts to combat it.

Relocation on Limited Land 

Many citizens of Fiji make a living in the boat-making or fishing industry; as a result, relocation threatens the livelihood of a small business economy. Rising water levels often force villages to move. Changing weather patterns have caused widening rivers and altered seasons, contributing to the issue. “Where there was rain, there is now sun,” reports a native islander who recently relocated because his village was flooded.

In the next 10 years, an estimated 676 villages will have to move, which will increase the number of unemployed islanders. As unemployment increases, those who live above the poverty line are at risk of falling below the global margin of $1.90 per day. The relocation of one village costs an estimated $445,000.

Education and Health Care

Fiji consists of 100 inhabited islands, a number that is drastically decreasing due to the rising water levels. Implementation of primary health care practices and basic amenity improvements in villages provide locals with clean water and permanent housing. The adoption of these principles by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund sought to improve Fiji’s situation between 1970 and 2000. In the past 20 years, though, the flow of central health support from the capital city of Suva into villages has slowed due to a limited number of health professionals.

Previous Health Minister Jona Senilagakali states, “…the government did not schedule workers to go to all communities in all the islands to monitor the project. And health workers were not encouraged to work more with the communities to improve their health standards.” The slow progress of Fiji’s modern health initiative is also a direct impact of “brain drain.” This occurs when educated individuals emigrate for higher-paid positions. Proper education in Fiji is also progressing rather slowly. Though secondary enrollment and literacy rates are high, the university system in Fiji lacks resources and government funding. Improving higher education largely depends on the willingness of the government to provide more aid to the people.

Prospects of Hope

Last year Fiji saw high prospects in the global market of reduced unemployment and the lowest amount of extreme poverty in the country’s history. The percentage of those living below the global poverty line, currently 0.5%, continues to fall as a result of incentives by the United Nations. In 2013, Fiji received honors from the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) for a substantial decline in poverty and hunger among the population.

– Natalie Williams
Photo: Pixabay

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Protecting Quality Education in the Philippines

Education in the Philippines
Officials in the Philippines confirmed in early June 2020 that schools would not reopen until a vaccine against COVID-19 became available. This decision leaves approximately 27 million children to continue their education via the internet. Education officials worry that two months is too short a period to extend a successful distance-learning model, especially when many children lack access to computers or the internet. For younger children, this adjustment in education style arrives at a crucial period in their schooling where they start developing social skills, literacy and numeracy.

Nonetheless, aid organizations are mobilizing in response to the decision that the government of the Philippines made to not reopen schools. These organizations hope to bridge the potential gap in quality and access to quality education in the Philippines during the pandemic.

USAID

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) gave $2.5 million to the government of the Philippines to help support its Basic Education-Learning Continuity Plan. USAID announced on June 18, 2020, that it would be putting forward funding to secure quality education for children in the Philippines until the restoration of face-to-face classroom learning.

In partnership with the Philippines Department of Education (DepEd), USAID will equip educators with effective distance-learning materials and teaching techniques. Additionally, USAID will also direct attention to families and citizens, providing parents with home-learning activities. Media platforms in the Philippines will be working with USAID to publicize advice on the effective continuation of education during the pandemic. USAID will also help DepEd in the development of assessment tools for students so that instructors can monitor and evaluate student literacy levels before the eventual return to school.

Save the Children Philippines

Government-sanctioned aid programs are not the only organizations targeting issues associated with education. International NGOs are also rolling out plans to maintain access to education via their local chapters in the Philippines. Save the Children Philippines recently initiated Project ARAL (Access to Resources for Alternative Learning), which seeks to support families at a high risk of losing learning opportunities with the transition to online-based schooling.

Project ARAL provides materials for at-home educational programs that it caters to students by age group. The plan also uses these programs to offer “psychosocial” support and disseminate information regarding nutrition and health. The project incorporates three stages for the planning and provision of educational aid, assuring support to all beneficiaries throughout transitions in learning. This includes a relief stage (when quarantine and school closures remain in place), a transition stage (when schools stay closed, but quarantine restrictions begin to lift) and a recovery stage (when returning to normal operations).

ChildFund Philippines

ChildFund Philippines, a regional sector of ChildFund International, introduced a CoVLOG-19 for young adults between the ages of 15 and 24. CoVLOG-19 is a video-blog platform for young adults to express themselves and communicate with peers while maintaining distance-learning. The platform focuses specifically on engaging young adults with information regarding COVID-19: slowing the infection rate and avoiding online exploitation and abuse in this large flux of computer use. ChildFund Philippines also hopes to support education in the Philippines by supplying “home-based family activities kits,” or HFAK, which provide activities to support the continued learning of life-skills, social skills and academics in the absence of traditional schooling. 

The indefinite closure of schools due to COVID-19 will inevitably continue to pose an enormous hurdle in the provision of quality education in the Philippines. However, projections determine that the materials, programs and plans that these aid organizations implemented will chip away at the challenge to further improve the status of remote learning.

– Alexandra Black
Photo: Flickr