Archive for category: Education

Information and stories on education.

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Fighting Youth Unemployment in Senegal

Youth Unemployment in Senegal
Like many developing countries in Africa, Senegal’s economy is growing. In fact, in 2018, the country’s GDP increased by 6.766%. However, economic growth has not translated into more jobs for the younger generation, thus resulting in high youth unemployment. Young people either end up unemployed or in the informal job sector where wages are low. To solve the problem of youth unemployment in Senegal, the Senegalese government and NGOs are creating new policies and programs.

Youth and the Formal Job Sector

In 2019, Senegal’s population was over 16 million with 40% of the population younger than 15. More than 300,000 Senegalese youth enter the workforce each year. The formal sector in Senegal makes up between three to four percent of Senegal’s job market. As a result, college graduates struggle to find jobs relating to their field of study. When looking for formal jobs, graduates face many difficulties, including a lack of connections and a failure to meet the job qualifications. Youths also lack the knowledge of where to look for formal jobs.

Furthermore, according to employers, the education system does not meet the needs of the workforce because graduates do not have work experience (internships). The internships that youths do manage to get are often unpaid. This results in more difficulties for young people to sustain themselves while working. CNV International works with unions to make sure that interns are not being taken advantage of. Although the youth unemployment rate for ages between 15-24 has decreased from 13.2% in 2010 to 8.2% in 2019, Senegal still faces a problem of unemployment among youth.

Youth and the Informal Job Sector

When it becomes difficult to find employment, many Senegalese youth turn to the informal sector or start their own businesses. The informal sector is made up of businesses that are not registered and therefore do not pay taxes. For obtaining an informal job, social and personal relations play a more important role than a contractual agreement. Furthermore, informal jobs often tend not to provide employees with any form of social security or insurance, and are also fairly low-paying. Many informal jobs generate income that is less than Senegal’s minimum wage, according to Investisseurs & Partenaires.

Consequences of Youth Unemployment

The problem with youth unemployment is that it often leads to poverty, crime and even migration to other countries. In Senegal, many have left their villages to migrate to Europe. However, the path to Europe is dangerous and many die attempting to reach or cross the Mediterranean. To respond to the crisis of youth unemployment, the Senegalese government and NGOs have created programs to help young people find jobs.

Efforts to Reduce Youth Unemployment

In 2017, the Education Development Center and MasterCard Foundation started a 5-year long project to help teach students in both middle and high school. The project aims to teach students how to get a job as well as how to start a business. The program, known as APTE, helps provide internships, job placement, mentoring and coaching. Currently, the program works in 50 vocational education and training (TVET) schools and 200 middle schools (lower secondary), and has reached over 11,000 youths in the country.

To help youth entrepreneurs, the government created La Délégation Générale à l’Entreprenariat Rapide, a fund for entrepreneurs. The fund focuses on small financing, incubation funding, equity financing and low-interest loans. In the first wave of funding alone, the program received 140,000 applications. The fund has given money to multiple industries, including food, agriculture and digital/ICT.

With the help of the World Bank, the Senegalese government also created the Skills for Jobs and Competitiveness project to help reduce youth unemployment in Senegal. The project aims to train Senegalese youth in tourism, horticulture and poultry farming. Additionally, the Programme de Formation Ecole-Enterprise (School-Company Training Program) hopes to impact 10,000 young people by teaching them crucial job skills. The government is also working with companies through an apprenticeship program to train students while they are in school.

 

Although the youth unemployment rate in Senegal has decreased, it still remains a relevant issue. Programs by NGOs and the government are essential to providing job opportunities for young people in Senegal. These efforts also serve to reduce poverty and encourage youth to remain in Senegal rather than attempt the dangerous journey to Europe. If this focus on tackling youth unemployment continues, a new future for Senegal’s youth may be peeking through the horizon.

– Joshua Meribole 
Photo: Flickr

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7 Facts About Nigeria’s Youth Unemployment

7 Facts About Nigeria’s Youth UnemploymentNigeria, with a rapid increase in population growth, is suffering from high youth unemployment. Nigeria’s youth unemployment in 2018 reached an all-time time high of 19.68%. Nigeria’s youth population is defined by people between the ages 15-34, which constitutes more than 50% of Nigeria’s overall population. The consequences of youth unemployment are argued to have resulted in criminal activities like armed robbery, kidnapping and social problems such as high poverty rate and prostitution.

Why is the Unemployment Rate in Nigeria High?

  1. Migration and Population Increase. A lot of young people from rural parts of Nigeria are moving to the city for better job opportunities and livelihood. The rural migration to urban Nigeria increases the competition of jobs, making it difficult for young people to get one. In addition, Nigeria’s overall population has been growing rapidly. In 2010, Nigeria’s population was around 150 million people. It is currently 200 million. The country’s population growth is putting pressure on the demand for more jobs.
  2. Lack of Education. Between 2008 and 2012, most of the youth who were unemployed did not finish primary school. In addition, it takes educated youth with a college degree or equivalent, which makes up about 20% of youth unemployment, more than five years after graduation to find a job.
  3. Lack of Adequate Education. Even for those who have an education, unemployed youth may not meet the needs of an employer due to a lack of trained teachers and poor school curriculum (some argue because of liberal-arts bias). In Nigeria, there is a mismatch between the skills individuals acquire from college and the needs of an employer.
  4. Corruption. It is difficult to write about what limits Nigeria’s progress without mentioning corruption. The consequences of corruption in Nigeria results in a lack of investment in key social infrastructure. For example, money allocated to improve Nigeria’s infrastructure are taken by politicians and put in foreign banks for personal gain. In the end, the citizen only sees a trickle of investment.

What’s Being Done to Solve Youth Unemployment?

  1. Vocational and Technical Job Training. In Nigeria, there is a negative perception of jobs like being a painter, nurse, carpenter, electronic technicians, mechanic, etc. Although university degrees are great to have, they are not the only form of education that can get one prepared for the workforce. The problem with this is that this creates a shortage of technical or vocational workers in the country. In addition, there is a lack of investment in vocational and technician job training. To create more jobs and diversify the route to education, both international programs and organizations, like the United Nation Development Program (UNDP) and the United States African Development Foundation, are helping to fund vocational and technical training.
  2. Government Programs and Efforts. In 2012, the government introduced programs such as the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Program, which offered internship and training opportunities to the unemployed population. For example, 50,000 unemployed graduates got the opportunity to work for a government or private institution for a year. The goal of the program was to give recent college graduates the required skill and experience for further employment.
  3. National Social Investment Program. In 2016, through the office of the Vice President, the National Social Investment Program (NSIP) was created to help the unemployed and the vulnerable people in Nigeria. The NSIP has many different programs that include helping small businesses with loans, job creation and training programs. The job training programs are specifically catered to Nigeria’s youth population and are targeting a variety of different industries from Agriculture to Scriptwriting.

Although Nigeria’s youth unemployment rate is high, it is a problem that the government and the people of Nigeria and its partners are intent on solving. However, there is still much progress that is needed as the Nigerian population continuously increases.

– Joshua Meribole
Photo: Flickr

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Literacy for Kids in South Africa

Literacy for Kids in South Africa
Consistently low reading scores among South African children can confirm one thing: the country is undoubtedly facing a reading crisis. In fact, eight out of 10 children in South Africa cannot read properly, and in the Progress in International Reading Literacy (PIRLS) study in 2016, South Africa ranked last out of 50 countries. While there has not been much improvement in literacy for kids in South Africa in the past, some people are stepping in and banding together to change that by making reading a priority.

The Reading Crisis

South Africa’s reading culture has been weak for many years. Literacy can transform lives, but unfortunately, a lot of students in South Africa are not succeeding in this skill. A scientific study revealed that 27 percent of children under 5 years old are not undergoing proper brain development. It is not uncommon for low-income public schools to overlook the importance of comprehensive reading. Moreover, the study showed that 78 percent of fourth-grade students that it tested could not read for meaning in any language. Many parents do not spend time reading to their children because they are not literate themselves. Another reason why South African children are not succeeding in literacy is that they do not get the opportunity to explore the world of stories due to a lack of quality books and resources. But what if stories could come to them?

 Meet the SSRS

The Schools Reading Road Show, better known as the SSRS, aims to make stories accessible to children. Founders Jann Weeratunga and Kim Hunter have organized a traveling group of authors to improve literacy for kids in South Africa. Interacting with local children’s authors can inspire children to read, and this is precisely the goal of the SSRS. Children’s authors, including Fatuma Abdullah, travel around the country visiting underprivileged schools and meeting with students. The children get to listen to the authors read their books, ask questions and even play with puppets that resemble characters from the books!

The SSRS’s hope is that meeting local authors will inspire children and motivate them to start their own reading journey, and maybe even begin writing their own stories. The members’ favorite part about the entire experience is getting to see the children’s eyes light up as they discover the excitement of reading.

The Future of Literacy for Kids in South Africa

This hands-on experience opens up a whole new realm of learning for the students. When the authors visit well-funded areas, they sell their books to students. They then use that money to purchase books for the under-resourced schools. With volunteer groups like the SSRS swooping in to improve literacy for kids in South Africa, the future is optimistic. An ignited curiosity for reading can both inspire and shape the future for many kids.

– Hadley West
Photo: Flickr

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5 Facts About Poverty in Haiti

Poverty in Haiti
The state of Haiti is in the western third of the island of Hispaniola. The poorest country in the world’s western hemisphere, nearly 60% of Haiti’s residents live below the national poverty line. Despite its status as one of the world’s poorest countries, with a $19.93 billion GDP in 2017 (142nd out of 185 countries), larger conversations about ending global poverty do not often include Haiti. Although people often discuss poverty in Haiti in conjunction with natural disasters, the most recent of which was Hurricane Matthew in 2016, there are larger systemic issues of political instability that influence poverty in the country. Here are five facts about poverty in Haiti.

5 Facts About Poverty in Haiti

  1. Wealth Disparity: Haiti has the most unequal distribution of wealth in the Caribbean. The wealthiest 20% of the population holds roughly 64% of the state’s total wealth, while the bottom 20% of the population holds less than 1%.
  2. Unemployment: The World Bank estimates that unemployment in Haiti was at a rate of 13.9% as of 2019. However, other reports have identified unemployment in Haiti at a rate of 70%. There are also no labor laws protecting workers in Haiti. Additionally, workers of a young age often experience unsanitary conditions, low wages and excessive hours.
  3. Governmental Ineptitude: The Haitian state government lacks the proper systems to adequately serve its people. Haiti has failed in its attempts to implement a true democratic system over the last several years resulting in an overcrowded prison system, domestic child labor and a lack of general rights. Estimates place the number of child laborers in Haiti between 250,000 and 400,000 people.
  4. Lack of Clean Water: Haiti is highly prone to outbreaks of cholera due to its lack of adequate sanitation systems. Only 24% of the Haitian population has access to a toilet and less than half have access to clean water.
  5. Educational Opportunity: More than 90% of schools in Haiti are private and require tuition for enrollment. There is little to no public education system resulting in a direct correlation between wealth and opportunity for education. The literacy rate in Haiti is between 61% to 64% for males and 57% for females.

Haiti’s Success So Far

Ending poverty in Haiti will be immensely difficult. With nearly 6 million people living below the poverty line of $2.41 per day and 2.5 million people living below the extreme poverty line of $1.23 per day, the epidemic of poverty in Haiti is widespread. However, despite the fact that Haiti ranks 168 out of 189 countries on the World Bank’s Human Development Index, the state is slowly improving.

The 2013 Millennium Development Goals report cited positive upswings for many of Haiti’s largest obstacles in overcoming poverty. From 1993 to 2013, enrollment in primary education jumped from 47% to 88%, evening out the contrast between male and female enrollment in schools. Furthermore, the MDG report noted that access to clean drinking water in Haiti has doubled to nearly 65% since 1995. Finally, the number of Haitians living in extreme poverty has declined from 31% to 24% from 2000 to 2012.

NGO and Foreign Aid Efforts

Through external efforts, the war against poverty in Haiti has continued. Over the last decade, the United States donated more than $5.1 billion in humanitarian aid, mostly for hurricane relief efforts. In addition, the United States has introduced new seed, fertilizer and irrigation resources to Haitian farmers to increase crop yield and food production. Rounding out the United States’ major efforts in Haiti is its establishment of new power plants and 14,000 jobs in the apparel industry.

There are also a number of organizations fighting poverty on the ground. The Haiti Foundation Against Poverty runs several schools, medical facilities and shelters for those in poverty. Meanwhile, CARE Haiti focuses on gender rights, equality and opportunity for disenfranchised Haitian women. REBUILD globally uses the social enterprise model to prioritize job training and fight for a living wage. Additionally, the organization charity: water assists in fundraising money for and donating to organizations on the ground in Haiti that specifically specialize in bringing clean and accessible drinking water to people.

Overall, these five facts about poverty in Haiti highlight the complexity of solving a deeply entrenched issue throughout the world. Additionally, they show that a concentrated and continued effort from multiple angles should allow Haiti to eradicate poverty.

– Max Lang
Photo: Flickr

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7 Facts About Prolonged Poverty in Uganda

Poverty in Uganda
The Republic of Uganda is in the African continent which constitutes a majority of the poor population in the world. There are 44 million people in Uganda, and 30% of Uganda’s population lives on less than $1.90 PPP per day. People speak more than 30 different indigenous languages in this land of 240,000 Sq. Km. The population in Uganda is increasing at an alarming rate. In fact, by 2025, Uganda will have a population of 51.9 million. However, it is not increasing in proportion to the employment rate. Here are seven facts about prolonged poverty in Uganda.

7 Facts About Prolonged Poverty in Uganda

  1. Transportation: When most of the world is traveling by car, people in Uganda transport from one place to the other by bicycles because of poor road conditions. Every 100 road crashes kill approximately 24 people. Accidents cost $1.2 billion in lost productivity and medical expenses annually, which accounts for 5% of Uganda’s GDP. The government invested a significant amount in infrastructural development to eradicate this problem.
  2. Health and Health Care: Uganda has a high number of infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, respiratory tract infections and diarrheal diseases, which may contribute to the average life expectancy of 59 years. Limited health care is another factor that affects Ugandans’ health. In fact, there are more ministers in Uganda than there are hospital beds. Moreover, only eight physicians are available for every 100,000 people. When COVID-19 entered Uganda, Ugandans did not feel a difference because they were already used to lockdowns and poor health care. Luckily, Uganda has a robust health care development plan for the upcoming decade. In addition, Uganda is improving its tracking system for health supplies in order to provide quality drugs to sick people.
  3. Food Shortage: Pests and droughts have an effect on Uganda’s food security. Around 2 million people in Uganda are desperately hungry, so a pest infestation or drought could cause many deaths. Additionally, Uganda is hosting other nationals or refugees, which is putting further strain on its food system. Farmers in Uganda are starting to use technology to forecast weather in order to generate profitable yields.
  4. Sanitation: Around 87% of Uganda’s population does not have access to clean water. As a result, around 4,500 children in Uganda die every year because of diarrheal diseases. Several borehole micro-projects are in progress to provide a clean source of water to Ugandans.
  5. Education: Like any other poor country, Uganda’s economic progress is dependent on education. Both public and private schools in Uganda do not necessarily provide quality education. The primary education completion rate is around 53% in Uganda. It is currently increasing at a slow pace. Poor education will lead to high unemployment rates in Uganda. NGOs and CSOs such as SchoolNet Uganda, Uconnect and the Uganda National Teachers Union (UNATU) are working towards improving education access in Uganda. SchoolNet Uganda works to provide technical facilities to several institutions in Uganda.
  6. Inequality: The inequality rate is increasing at an alarming rate in Uganda, which contrasts with the high rates of GDP growth. Uganda has started targeting social sectors such as education and health to improve its growth rate. However, this policy has not helped to improve the inequality rate. In fact, all these decisions worsened the inequality rate. Twenty percent of Uganda’s population owns around 50% of the total wealth.
  7. Sustainability: Statistically, two out of three people fall back into poverty in Uganda after coming out of it. Social security is the major reason for returning back to poverty. The Ugandan government spends only 1% of its GDP on social security. Its green growth development strategy shows a promising vision for 2018-2030.

Looking Ahead

Uganda’s growth in the last decade was mainly dependent on good fortune. The Ugandan government could solve prolonged poverty in Uganda if it focuses on improving access to electricity, education, child malnutrition, agriculture and employment.

– Narasinga Moorthy
Photo: Flickr

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Children with Developmental Disabilities

Children with Developmental Disabilities
Across all countries, 20.4 percent of children have at least one developmental disability. In developed countries like the U.S., many schools have resources for children with developmental disabilities, but in countries where a solid implementation of an education system is struggling to find a foothold, people with learning disabilities often face an additional, invisible hurdle.

Medical professionals conducted a study that screened populations for developmental disabilities throughout the world. A developmental disability is a type of disability that occurs before adulthood. Some of these are learning disabilities, but all of them impact a child during the prime educational years. The study first sorted countries based on HDI (Human Development Index) a score the U.N. gives to countries according to life expectancy, education and gross domestic product (GDP). In general, this means that countries with higher HDI are more developed, and those with lower HDI are less developed.

Out of a pool of 16 countries, this study included 101,250 children averaging 5 years of age. The countries with the highest number of children with developmental disabilities include Thailand, Bangladesh and Iraq.

Thailand has an HDI of 0.755, Bangladesh has one of 0.608 and Iraq has one of 0.685. For scale, Norway has the highest HDI at 0.953. Thailand ranks 83rd in the world for high human development (though still developing), whereas Bangladesh and Iraq lay in the “medium developed” range.

Thailand 

The study concluded that Thailand had 12,911 children with a developmental disability. In Thailand, communities, professional groups and other social institutions provide education and learning centers, which serve as Thailand’s primary agents of education. Thailand has separate schools available for children with developmental disabilities. Thailand gives other resources, like communicative devices, to children with disabilities to aid in education. Thailand has different classifications of disabilities, like intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities and behavioral disorders, and different sorts of schooling options available to accommodate these different groups. The parents and the children can choose which system they would like to use, and it is available as a lifelong educational resource for them.

The Education for Development Foundation (EDF), founded in 1987, started a scholarship in 2003 with the intention of making education more accessible to children with developmental disabilities. This scholarship aims to support the physical, social and emotional development of Thai youth. To qualify, candidates must already demonstrate a certain level of communicative and learning ability.

Bangladesh 

The study also found that in Bangladesh, there were 36,987 children with developmental disabilities. It also determined that the rate of enrollment for a primary school in Bangladesh was 97 percent, but only 11 percent of disabled children received any sort of education.

Approaching education with respect to disabilities, methodical diagnosing and treating physical ailments is not possible. A child’s environment has a larger role in deciding how a disability might appear. As such, many early childhood education specialists recommend an approach that relies more on the stage of development the child is in to see what children with disabilities are capable of learning. Similar to how Thailand’s education system handles children with disabilities, Bangladesh has different types of schools to choose from. Unfortunately, that sort of data is not readily available or consistent.

Many international efforts to improve educational and social infrastructure have aimed to support the needs of children with developmental disabilities in impoverished countries. As a result of the UNESCO Declaration on Education for All (1990), the Dakar Framework (2000) and the Salamanca Declaration on Inclusive Education (1994), Bangladesh is working to offer children with developmental disabilities an inclusive education alongside able-bodied children.

While this sentiment does bring the needs of children with developmental disabilities to light, it is not sufficient in clearing various obstacles that arise. One study surveyed educators on the barriers of educating children with disabilities. The results were that 11 out of 15 respondents answered ‘yes’ to a lack of the proper instruments and learning materials.

Iraq

The study showed that Iraq had 11,163 children with developmental disabilities. Malnutrition, an issue in many developing countries, can inhibit cognitive development, leading to learning disabilities and difficulties.

Further, one in three children suffers from an iodine deficiency in the Iraq and Afghanistan areas. This deficiency can result in a slew of health issues including goiter, learning difficulties and severe mental impairment in the worst cases. Statistics have shown that this environmental factor contributes to the rate of mentally disabled individuals. This adds pressure on Iraq to determine adequate educational accommodations for children with developmental disabilities.

Although, since the Iraqi society is advancing technologically, there are diverse ways to deliver education to children. This means that a wider range of people can receive education, including children with developmental disabilities. The United Nations Children’s Fund launched a series of e-projects in an attempt to standardize accessible, inclusive learning. These projects were available to all students – disabled or otherwise. About 4,000 schools had access to these e-projects, not only making education accessible to all but also providing equity to education.

Solutions

Disabled Peoples’ International (DPI), established in 1981, works on behalf of all disabled individuals to give them a proper place in education, the workforce and society alongside able-bodied counterparts. DPI is active in 139 countries and seven regions, including Africa, Asia and the Middle East. DPI also develops educational materials, promotes the rights of disabled people and collects data on disability issues.

In working with MPhasiS F1 Foundation, the organization is creating a Global Youth with Disabilities Network. This network will advocate for the representation of children with developmental disabilities throughout all levels of decision-making. The organization plans to ensure these youths have access to public transportation, health care, education and employment opportunities.

– Catherine Lin
Photo: Flickr

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The Impact of English in Developing Nations

English in Developing Nations
When discussing the development of some of the lower-income nations of the world, the English language has a tricky history. Some countries label English as their national language when a majority of their populations speak something else. There are also organizations, such as the Peace Corps, that teach English in developing nations with the intention of providing the students with more opportunities. However, some have widely debated the effectiveness of teaching English in other nations and its relation to development. This begs the questions: How might English improve a developing nation and what are some past results?

Expectations

The intentions behind teaching English in lower-income areas are usually positive. In 2011, the British Council identified four benefits of the English language including that it improves employability, provides international mobility, is a key for unlocking development opportunities and is a neutral language. Here is a breakdown of each of these points.

  1. Employability: English for the purpose of employability assumes that someone with English skills will be more competitive for a job.
  2. International Mobility: English for the purpose of increasing international mobility assumes that people with English skills are able to travel to other countries more easily, through methods such as studying in international schools or working in other countries.
  3. Development Opportunities: English as a key for unlocking development opportunities assumes that a lot of published information and research is in English and that acquiring English skills can grant access to a lot of that information.
  4. Neutrality: English as a neutral language occurs when an institution or country has several dialects, possibly with complex social connotations attached to them, that hinder easy communication. People can use English as a linking language to unify groups.

These four roles outline how people could ideally use English to help developing nations, but history has proven that it is rarely that simple or effective.

Reality

Now, with the establishment of the theoretical ways that English can help people, here is some evidence to show if reality meets the expectations.

In regards to English’s ability to help employment opportunities, a Sierra Leonean wrote a piece in 2020 in which she discussed this very problem. Sierra Leone’s schools teach English and most government positions speak it, but a majority of the population speaks Krio, a dialect similar to English.

This writer labeled English as a “burden on a majority of citizens aged 18-40.” She stated that children struggle to learn due to its usage in classrooms and that jobs often go to unqualified people because they can speak English. Essentially, they feel that it is unfair that people have labeled English as such an important skill while teachers ineffectively teach it to students. She acknowledged that English can be an opportunity to make citizens more globally competitive, but that there seems to be a disconnect between the education system and the people. In this instance, the mishandling of the execution of teaching English did not measure up to the expectations.

Despite the structural shortcomings, there are some observed benefits for English in developing nations. A 2011 study that the British Council commissioned concluded that learning English in a developing country can increase an individual’s earning power by around 25 percent. The study gathered the data from five countries: Nigeria, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Cameroon and Rwanda. The data revealed that the English speaking countries (Nigeria, Bangladesh and Pakistan) received more investment from other English speaking countries such as the U.S. and U.K. However, the report also shows that urban elites reap most of the benefits of speaking English, as they tend to have access to better schooling and higher-paying jobs.

Another benefit of speaking English is that some countries that outsiders previously did not visit, such as Sierra Leone, Mozambique and Ethiopia, are now growing tourist destinations. Many think that locals’ abilities to communicate with said tourists can increase interaction and commerce. In 2018, Africa accounted for only 1 percent of tourism earnings worldwide. Because of this largely untapped market, a lot of policymakers and business owners are hoping to find ways to appeal to more travelers.

African migrants often move to places such as the U.S. or the U.K. to flee economic hardships and human rights abuses. According to the 2019 census, African languages are the fastest growing in the United States.

However, English skills can greatly affect the success of African migrants entering English speaking countries. The BBC published a story in 2005 on Africans’ success in the U.K. It stated that “African-born immigrants are doing better than many other migrants.” It found that 81 percent of South Africans, 73 percent of Zimbabweans, 61 percent of Nigerians and 12 percent of Simoleans had employment. These figures deduced that English competency plays an important role in an African migrant’s ability to find employment in the U.K. and most likely other English speaking nations.

The Need for Balance

Essentially, what the evidence suggests is that teaching English as a tool for development could be beneficial, but currently there are a lot of obstacles surrounding the actual implementation process. English carries the stigma of colonization in several countries, so people often meet it with resistance. Conversely, in places such as Pakistan, people treat English as superior to native languages, which causes rifts between populations rather than unifying them.

Clearly a balance is necessary and there are specialists and organizations attempting that now. One method that seeks to maintain the integrity of native language while also presenting the opportunity to learn English is “Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education.”

A paper that Tove Skutnabb-Kangas wrote in 2013 cited examples of MLE in practice in Nepal, Sápmi and Ethiopia, and highlighted the positive effects the program had on students.

There are organizations, such as the Asia-Pacific Multilingual Education Working Group, that are currently attempting to utilize this method in places such as Thailand and Cambodia to strike a balance when integrating English in developing nations around the world.

English does seem to be a viable option for development in some instances, but in others, it can lead to added societal tension and obstacles for students. As implementation and teaching programs progress, hopefully, they will work out the negatives so citizens of low-income nations can just focus on creating more opportunities for themselves.

– Lindsey Shinkle
Photo: Flickr

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10 Celebrities at DREAM’s 8th Annual Benefit

DREAM 8th Annual Benefit
The DREAM Project is a nonprofit organization that is working to improve the Dominican Republic. More than a million children live in poverty in the Dominican Republic. About 578,000 children younger than 15 are living without parental care and about 20 percent of them are orphans. DREAM provides more than 1 million hours of education to more than 8,000 children across 27 communities in the Dominican Republic. DREAM just held its eighth annual benefit on February 27, 2020, to raise money to keep operating its education programs. Gathering at The Mezzanine in New York City, New York, was the star-studded invitee list. Here are 10 celebrities who attended the DREAM’s eighth annual benefit to promote children’s education.

10 Celebrities Who Attended DREAM’s 8th Annual Benefit

  1. Solly Duran: Most know the “Orange is the New Black” star for her role as the outlandish Araceli, but she stole the show at DREAM’s eighth annual benefit with a group of Dominican women including Katherine Castro (“The Summoning”) and CEO and activist Carolina Contreras (Miss Rizos Salón, New York City). Born in the Dominican Republic, the actor and producer is continuing to support efforts that will help make education accessible for all by raising money for DREAM’s programs. She encouraged others to purchase tickets to support the benefit or to donate through DREAM’s website.
  2. Taye Diggs: People know Diggs for his roles as Benjamin Coffin III in “Rent” on Broadway and Dr. Sam Bennett in “Private Practice” and “Grey’s Anatomy.” Diggs was one of the celebrity guests who attended DREAM’s 2020 benefit. Additionally, he acted as the host. DREAM is not the only philanthropic interest of Diggs. He is also active in fighting AIDS and HIV with the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
  3. Katherine Castro: “Reinbou” and “American Violence” star joined Duran and others to celebrate independent Dominican women. Born in the Dominican Republic, her family’s support of her artistic dreams and the dance classes she took helped mold her into the successful woman she is today. She went to the 2020 benefit in support of the Dominican’s most vulnerable populations, who often do not obtain the supportive family and education she received.
  4. Chef Kelvin Fernandez: Many may know Fernandez as Chef Kelvin on the Food Network. The culinary star was one of the night’s personalities who showed up to support the improvement of the accessibility of education in the Dominican Republic. Fernandez spoke about growing up poor; he is the child of two Dominican immigrants. He also talked about his appreciation that his parents worked to give him the opportunities to pursue his passion.
  5. Tony Peralta: Peralta is a contemporary artist and first-generation Dominican with heavy influence. Peralta’s finds inspiration in his enthusiasm for exploring his Dominican-American identity through his art and focuses on blackness within the Dominican identity. The Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum in DC has shown his pieces.
  6. Shane Evans: The author and illustrator has published more than 35 children’s books, including “We March” and “Chocolate Me!” His works explore black identity and serve to empower black children with his thoughtful, relevant stories and vibrant pictures. His travels all over the world are some of the biggest influences on his work. Laura Bush honored Evans in 2002 at the National Book Festival. Evans also illustrated for the book “Osceola: Memories of a Sharecropper’s Daughter,” which won The Orbus Pictus Award for Outstanding Non-Fiction for Children. He runs a community art space called Dream Studio in Kansas City, Missouri.
  7. Doug Wimbish: The Living Colour and Tackhead bassist also attended the 2020 benefit. Wimbish has a history of playing for charity events and raising money, having played to raise money for The NAMM Foundation in 2016. In his successful musical endeavors, Wimbish takes it upon himself to use his good fortune and skill to raise money that will allow disadvantaged children the opportunity to hone their skills and find their passions through education.
  8. Albania Rosario: Born in the Dominican Republic, Rosario is the Founder and Creative Director of Uptown Fashion Week. She moved to New York when she was 18 to pursue higher education. She strives to merge her artistic passions with her desire to help her community.
  9. Arlette Borrelly: Borrelly is a Dominican-born radio personality and TV producer from 93.1 La Mega “La Bodega de la Mañana.” It is a comedy show on a contemporary Spanish radio channel that specializes in reggaeton, bachata and love songs.
  10. Esther Céspedes: In 2019, Céspedes showed her Dominican pride when she won Miss República Dominicana U.S. In 2020, she showed her pride by supporting the DREAM Project at its annual benefit. Miss República Dominicana U.S. strives to crown intelligent women who are ready to support and represent their community. Céspedes embodied this as she showed up to empower underprivileged Dominican children.

All proceeds went towards DREAM’s Early Childhood Education and At-Risk Youth and Development programs. DREAM’s programs focus on children between the ages of 2 and 7, using Montessori methods instead of traditional teaching ones. In addition, they help with birth registration and parent education. Thanks to these programs, families can learn new techniques to use at home with their children, extending the education past the walls of the classroom.

– Catherine Lin
Photo: Flickr

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How eLearning Can Help Developing Countries

eLearning Can Help Developing Countries
Education is a human right and a basic need that children and adults alike do not always receive in developing countries. In 1820, only 12 percent of the people in the world could read. By 2016, the percentages reversed and only 14 percent of the world population was illiterate. However, in countries like Niger, South Sudan and Burkina Faso, the rate of literacy is below 30 percent. With eLearning or electronic learning, these countries might be able to hope for a better future and potentially change their country’s path into a better economy and education system. Here is some information about how eLearning can help developing countries.

eLearning and its Benefits

eLearning is a form of learning through electronic devices like computers, tablets or any other electronic device that one can connect to the internet. Essentially, it is education online. 

eLearning can help developing countries because it is not only incredibly adaptable but also cost-effective as it removes the need for buying printed course materials. It also helps improve performance and productivity as it gives the user flexibility to learn at their own pace as they can repeat lectures as many times as they desire. It also facilitates students by cutting the transport factor when countries struggle with public transport and other logistics.

The Department of Higher Education and Training in South Africa said that it has committed itself to “an expansion of online resources” for more colleges and universities to adapt to and reach rural communities so students study and learn at a time and place convenient for them. There are 14.8 million people without access to transport in rural areas.

eLearning is also environmentally friendly. In fact, it consumes 90 percent less power and has generated 85 percent less CO2 emissions compared to onsite education.

Costs of eLearning

However, while eLearning has many benefits for developing countries, it also comes at a cost. The biggest setback is that some developing countries cannot adapt to eLearning due to the lack of access to high-speed internet, trained IT personnel or access to electrical power.

Another setback is that governments need to approve and adapt their education system to deploy eLearning, which relies heavily on investing. According to Market Research, some states in Africa have been investing heavily in eLearning, growing at a rate of 15 percent per year.

South Africa has the largest open distance eLearning institution, The University of South Africa, with a student headcount of over 300,000. In 2011, 91 percent of its students were from South Africa.

UNESCO and other GNO’s initiatives have been aiding countries to obtain access to the internet to be able to utilize eLearning. Senegal and Zambia should grow up to 30 percent in the developing and deployment of eLearning. 

India and Latin America are Catching Up

With a population of over 1.2 billion in India, the customer size should grow from 370 million to 500 in 2020.  Another factor of this growth is that eLearning has also reached rural areas, promoting India’s economical and educational growth, booming the market.

One can greatly attribute much of this to India’s government work on promoting online sources and eLearning. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said that eLearning is one of the “key tools for imparting education.”

According to Business Wire, Latin America is expecting to create revenues of $3 billion by 2023, a growth of more than 4 percent in the use of eLearning.

Countries like Brazil, Mexico, Chile and Argentina have adopted eLearning and overall, revenues should reach $2.2 billion and are growing at an annual rate of 14.6 percent. The increase in these percentages of eLearning use has also been possible with the help of the increasing rise in the use of smartphones and the exchange of audio and text-based applications.

From this revenue, Brazil has been investing in eLearning to adapt it into the educational curriculum, and now 51 percent of institutions utilize eLearning. Overall, technology and innovation are at the forefront of investments in Brazilian schools.

 With the help of governments and NGOs, eLearning can help developing countries by helping education reach children and adults alike. Subsequently, this could aid the growth of country’s economies and education systems with eLearning as a key tool as more and more countries adapt to online resources, adding themselves to the eLearning market.

– Merlina San Nicolás Leyva
Photo: Flickr