Archive for category: Education

Information and stories on education.

,

Tech-oriented Education in Indonesia

Youth Empowerment in Indonesia
The information technology (IT) and mobile technology sectors in Indonesia have flourished in the last few years, and the country is poised to dominate those fields in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. In order to meet the growing demands of such booming sectors, tech-oriented education in Indonesia has become a prominent national goal.

Education and Technology

Throughout the past 20 years, Indonesia has made great strides toward increasing the quality and accessibility of education. Although Indonesia still has one of the lowest national education expenditures per GDP in the APAC region, the increased spending since 2005 has had positive impacts on Indonesian students. Schools’ capacity and reach have grown, and education has become more and more available to youth in rural communities through educational outreach and education technology.

In fact, a 2018 Cambridge Assessment of International Education found that Indonesian students are some of the most technologically engaged in the world. As education and mobile technology became more accessible, young Indonesians sought both. The surveying that the Cambridge Assessment completed found that around 40% of students were in computer science courses, which would help prepare them to enter the professional world of technology.

US Assistance

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has worked to help prepare Indonesian students for employment in various fields. With regards to technology, USAID recognizes the growing IT sector in Indonesia and the potential for student success in related positions. Therefore, USAID created a plan called Accelerating Work Achievement and Readiness for Employment 3 (AWARE3) in which 25 vocational schools in Jakarta are able to maintain partnerships with local businesses and corporations.

Within these partnerships, there are opportunities for students to engage with current business structures and potential employers through work readiness training, internships and more. The partnered businesses also assist the schools with maintaining an up-to-date curriculum that will best prepare students to enter the professional world with regard to the specific industry or vocation.

USAID and the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture have goals for AWARE3 to meet by mid-2022. They hope to equip 250 or more teachers in Jakarta with resources to provide work readiness training for their students, and they aim for this training to reach areas all across Indonesia through distance-learning methods. The goal is to reach 4,500 students with the work-readiness curriculum via a remote learning platform. USAID has updated these goals based on the COVID-19 pandemic but hopes exist that the remote nature of these educational opportunities will limit the negative impacts of the pandemic.

Use of EdTech in Tech-Oriented Education in Indonesia

Indonesia’s Ministry of Education and Culture has worked with global organizations and foreign governments to implement several strategies and initiatives to broaden the reach and efficiency of its public education system. One of the most significant ways in which it has made education more accessible in Indonesia is through the use of education technology (EdTech). The World Bank, with help and funding from the Australian government, started the Improving Dimensions of Teaching, Education Management, and Learning Environment (ID-TEMAN) program in 2016.

This program works to analyze educational information from the Ministry of Education and Culture and push Indonesia to reach its full educational potential. The ID-TEMAN program is all about effectively using and appropriating the country’s resources, which are becoming abundantly technological. Indonesia is still working to provide more internet and mobile coverage across rural areas, which would expand educational opportunities through EdTech.

Bright Futures for Indonesian Students

As the world has seen in the past decades, and especially with the COVID-19 pandemic, everything is becoming increasingly efficient through the use of technology. This includes tech-oriented education in Indonesia, with more accessible remote learning in rural areas and initiatives to better prepare students for potential employment opportunities. Technology is the new way of the world, and Indonesian students are gearing up to successfully enter the workforce.

– Hayley Welch
Photo: Flickr

, ,

Standardized English and Poverty

Standardized English and Poverty
Standardized English and Poverty can be attributed to the fact that English ranks as the most commonly spoken language in the world. English originated in England and then spread worldwide through colonization, the internet, print and the spoken word. Because it has spread through colonization, it has also become a marker of social standing globally. English was not always this unified language.

The Bare Beginnings

English has gone through many changes and evolutions throughout its time. Its letters come from the Roman alphabet with partial pronunciation from Anglo-Saxons. For a long time, many different English-speaking groups lived in England. After the conquests in the middle ages and moving the court seat to London, the new speaking norms came from the English of London instead of ancestral Wessex. Manuscripts underwent revisions to translate them in the dialect of London English. Through printing, this way of speaking spread nationwide. Language is constantly evolving, especially vowels, and many shifts occurred. This period also saw the rise of language purists against the perceived threat of different ethnicities and cultures.

British or American?

English contains two orthographies: British English and American English. Both have the same core rules but hold to some different spelling and terms. A great example of this can be seen in the television series, “The Great British Bake Off.” Aside from a change in accents, bakers use different words for the same thing. For example, a baker may say “sponge” instead of “cake.” Even the show has a name change in the U.S., from “The Great British Bake Off” to “The Great British Baking Show.”

These changes are due to time, distance and America’s colonization. The Englishmen who first came to America were poor and desperate for a new life. Therefore, a new dialect quickly formed in America based primarily on the linguistic styles of rural England. Over time, these dialect differences became bigger and bigger until they diverged officially into British English and American English.

Language and Class

Despite only having two specific orthographies, English sports a ton of different dialects. A dialect is a way of speaking specifically to a region or group. One example of this is AAVE or African-American Vernacular English. This dialect likely formed after the transatlantic trade of enslaved people from Africa, who mingled English with their native languages to form a new dialect. Many groups impacted by colonization, such as India and South America, experienced variations of this phenomenon.

Eventually, English’s various strains and dialects were applied to social class in industry-based societies. These linguistic variants are still closely related to questions of education and race in social stratification. Someone speaking AAVE demonstrates that they have less education and are therefore lower in class. Linguistic discrimination occurs when those who don’t use standardized English are barred from promotion for not appearing as educated or intelligent. At times, linguistic prejudice can even result in unfair legal rulings when particular vernaculars are discredited.

How It Haunts Us

The results of language colonization still exist today. India links English to education and class. Ever since Great Britain’s colonization of India, British culture is still considered high class. Skin-whitening products remain popular in India for this reason. Only 20% of the population speaking any English, and only 4% can boost fluency. Of the fluent speakers, 34% earn more money than those who are not. Fluent English-speakers enjoy more opportunities in jobs and education, which both factors heavily into poverty. Therefore, 96% of the population that doesn’t speak English suffer an immediate disadvantage. Fluency offers greater means to escape poverty. Many other countries and minorities harmed by colonization share this classist structure.

Towards Linguistic Equality

Many organizations, such as colleges, are growing increasingly aware of this linguistic class issue. In 2018, Yale Law School’s Environmental Justice Clinic mounted a legal fight against New Mexico’s Environment Department on the basis of language discrimination against native Spanish-speakers. The conversation increasingly revolves around making college a safe place for all dialects and opening the class barrier. Equalizing education access, especially in areas with sparse funding, offers the first step towards mending the classist language barrier. Additionally, advocates hope to stop discrimination through legal bills as well as encouraging more acceptance among the standardized English-speaking populace.

-Audrey Burran
Photo: Flickr

,

Creating Social Harmony through School Canteens

Social Harmony
In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a school canteen program aims to create social inclusion and harmony. It seeks to address issues in a unique way: by connecting to students and the educational system.

About the School Canteen Program

In Lekoumou, located in the Republic of Congo, the school Makoubi comprises indigenous and Bantu children. Indigenous children comprise nearly one-third of the school population.

The indigenous population has historically experienced marginalization and has trouble exercising its rights, which include access to education. More than 65% of indigenous children do not attend school. The school canteen program, which the World Food Program initiated, is working to combat that. The program is a part of the SDG Fund initiative, which is an initiative looking to improve the indigenous community’s access to social protection programs in Lekoumou.

How it Works

During the school day, 313 Bantu and indigenous children sit down and share a hot meal. Parents or most often mothers of the children, cook the meals. Indigenous women, who are often victims of prejudice, meet with Bantu women daily to make the meals.

By working together, these parents are contributing to a growing social harmony. “Strengthening the participation and inclusion of indigenous peoples in Congo’s food systems is a key step in enabling people to have equal and fair access to adequate, nutritious and diverse food.” Not only that, but these meals also enable children to stay focused and prepare for their futures.

The Importance of this Effort

Before the program underwent enactment, tensions between the indigenous and Bantu communities created conflict. Notably, there is still a way to go to reach a better social harmony, but things are improving. When speaking with the WFP, Georgette, one of the indigenous cooks, said, “Before, the Bantus refused to eat meals cooked by the indigenous people because they were considered dirty. Now they do. And even outside of school, things are better.”

She also noticed that without the program, kids were missing school. These meals motivated children to attend school. For the indigenous children, remaining within school is even more important. Due to their weaker access to basic social services, indigenous children often have a harder time escaping poverty.

Reducing Poverty

The school canteen program feeds 313 children in Lekoumou, indigenous and Bantu alike, and promotes social harmony. However, that is not all the program does. As of 2019, chronic malnutrition affected 21% of children in the Republic of the Congo. By providing freshly cooked meals, the program gives many children meals that they might not have received otherwise.

Food insecurity affects a child’s academic progress in many ways. Children suffering from food insecurity are more likely to suffer from hyperactivity, absenteeism, generally poor behavior and poor academic functioning. These children are also more likely to need special education services, which can cost twice as much compared to a child who does not require such services.

Education has direct ties to poverty in the sense that having an education gives people a better chance at escaping poverty. Providing children with meals makes them healthier, more socially involved and more engaged. The WFP recognizes this and continues to do this while healing the rift between two communities at the same time.

– Ariel Dowdy
Photo: Flickr

, , ,

A Teacher’s Response to COVID-19 in Quito

COVID-19 in Quito
COVID-19 has ravaged the entire world, and each country has experienced the pandemic and suffered losses in its own way. However, the pandemic has a very unique impact on under-resourced countries than it does on developed countries. The New York Times reported that the death toll in Ecuador from the novel coronavirus is among the worst in the world, and the nation became an epicenter in Latin America for the deadly disease. By August 12, 2021, Ecuador recorded 493,767 cases and 31,870 deaths due to COVID-19. Many people suspect that the actual numbers of cases and deaths are much higher. Because Ecuador is a small country with a population of around 17 million people, these figures are extremely high. Here is some information about COVID-19 in Quito, Ecuador, a community that has faced significant challenges due to the pandemic, as well as the teacher who is making a difference.

Health care System in Quito

The health care system in Quito was extremely limited before the pandemic. The public health system in Ecuador lacked capabilities to facilitate contact tracing, appropriate screening and isolation measures and early detection measures. A lack of emergency response preparation and PPE equipment added to the inability of public hospitals to maintain safe conditions and keep up with the influx of patients. Additionally, Ecuador did not receive sufficient supplies of vaccines, and therefore, struggled to roll out vaccines to frontline workers and vulnerable populations in a timely manner. When the virus hit Quito, hospitals became quickly overwhelmed, forcing most people to seek care in tents outside them.

This was the case for Pilar Salazar, a middle-aged teacher from Comite del Pueblo, an impoverished neighborhood in Northern Quito, who shared her story in an interview with The Borgen Project. When her mother fell sick with the flu, Pilar took her to the hospital, where she received treatment in a tent in the cold outside, without space to distance from other patients. Her mother contracted COVID-19 at the hospital and subsequently gave it to Pilar, her primary caretaker.

Pilar then spent the next two months quarantined in her bedroom with pneumonia developed from COVID-19, unable to go to the hospital because of overcrowding. Her husband passed her oxygen tanks and food through her window while she recovered, unsure if she would survive. This story is not unique during the period of COVID-19 in Quito. Due to a lack of education and infrastructure, COVID-19 ravaged Quito and other Ecuadorian cities. Many of Pilar’s friends and her entire immediate family contracted the virus at some point in 2021, and she still feels damage in her lungs.

Economic Impact of COVID-19 in Ecuador

COVID-19 also deeply impacted Quito economically. The GDP in Ecuador was at risk of dropping 11% from the year 2019 to the year 2020. As one of the more underserved neighborhoods in Quito, Comite del Pueblo was particularly vulnerable to economic decline. When the after-school tutoring foundation that Pilar taught at closed down due to COVID-19, she had deep concern for the 40+ students she taught.

In March 2020, the Ecuadorian government implemented a national school closure. This mandate, still in effect today, affected around 4.5 million Ecuadorian school-aged children.

Pilar explained that without somewhere to go during school hours and after school, children are susceptible to abuse at home and drug trafficking in the area. When the foundation closed, some of her students lost their only place to catch up in school and receive direct homework help, while others lost their only meal of the day. This is the reality of the economic downturn and school shutdowns in an underdeveloped neighborhood during the COVID-19 pandemic in Quito.

Pilar’s Solution

In response to these immense challenges, Pilar has begun renovating a building in her neighborhood on her own to open a foundation for the children in her neighborhood. She is one example of many ways in which people have responded to COVID-19 in Quito with resilience. She said that she wants them to have a safe space to go, to study and succeed away from home and the traumas of daily life.

– Abigail Meyer
Photo: Flickr

,

New Arrival of Vaccines in Syria

Vaccines in SyriaDuring the Eid holidays, the number of border crossings in and out of Syria drastically increased. As a result of such rising travel, the subsequent transmission of COVID-19 and reported cases additionally increased. With the remnants of the aforementioned influx continuing into late August and September 2021, vaccines in Syria are desperately needed, due to Syria being home to one of the fastest increasing rates of infection in the world. Thus, the early September shipment of over 358,000 vaccinations from WHO Turkey came as a welcome respite.

A Broken Healthcare System

As Syria nears the peak of its second infection curve, outside reporters and internal government agents look back at the path that brought Syria to its position of viral precarity. Syria entered the pandemic in a state of civil war that suffered the healthcare system as the most severe casualty. Since the inception of the Syrian civil war, there have been nearly 600 documented attacks on medical facilities. Of these, Physicians for Human Rights attributes over 90% to the state government. As a result of such unabashed violence, nearly 70% of healthcare workers fled the country. The shortage of workers placed yet another strain on an already damaged healthcare infrastructure. Such was the initial state of Syrian healthcare at the genesis of COVID-19.

A Worsening Crisis

Syria, the home to the largest population of Internationally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the world, found itself massively unprepared for the ills of COVID-19. In the Northwest, nearly 4 million IDPs were equipped with a total of 212 ICU beds designated for pandemic patients. Such a dearth of medical supplies represented the norm across nearly all of Syria.

According to the WHO, COVID-19 transmission in IDP camps increased 200% since August 2021, with over 1,000 new daily cases. Dramatically ill-equipped to address the initial wave of COVID-19, this infrastructure proved similarly ill-equipped for the dissemination of vaccines.

Early estimates of the Syrian government’s capacity to vaccinate its population suggest that as of October 2021, only 2.6% have received both doses. At such a pace, the medical system would require a further 490 days simply to achieve a 10% vaccinated threshold. These predictions arrive in tandem with Syria’s highest infection rate to date, with a daily average of 347 reported on October 20.

New Vaccines, New Hope

Amidst all of this difficulty, NGOs and global organizations such as WHO and the U.N. have sought to aid nations struggling to vaccinate their citizens. One example is the shipment of over 358,000 vaccinations from WHO Turkey, a much-welcomed respite in Syria. In early September 2021, WHO reported the delivery of these vaccines to Northwest Syria by way of the Adana airport. These doses represent more than double the number of previously administered vaccines before their arrival. This arrival resulted from a collaboration between WHO Turkey, UNICEF and the Syrian Immunization Groups.  Their massively helpful collaboration presents just one example of the necessity of international aid in vaccinating the global population, and subsequently, beating this pandemic.

– Jonah Stern
Photo: Flickr

, ,

New Chilean Constitution to Reduce Social Inequality

New Chilean Constitution to Reduce Social InequalityThe 2019 sweeping protests in Chile may be leading to radical change in that country by 2022. The protests, which originated in Santiago and spread throughout the country, sought to end the vast social inequality throughout Chile. This led to the government’s October 2020 decision for a referendum to draft a new Chilean constitution. The old constitution had been in place since the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. According to protestors, that constitution gave far too many privileges to Chile’s private sector.

Chilean Constitutional Convention

The referendum saw overwhelming support for the new constitution with 78% of the country voting in favor. It also asked voters whom they wanted to write the constitution. Almost 80% voted to elect 100% of the delegates to draft the new Chilean constitution. This replaced the old system that appointed 50% of the delegates from Congress.

Overwhelmingly, the Chilean people elected independent and opposition candidates (48%) to write the new Chilean constitution. It is the first such convention in the world to stipulate parity between male and female members. It reserves 17 seats of the convention for members of indigenous groups, not even mentioned in the original Pinochet-era constitution.

Among these indigenous delegates is Elisa Loncon, a progressive academic. Delegates elected her as the leader of the constitutional convention. Her election signposts the strong possibility that the convention’s decisions, and thus the constitution, will be left-leaning. Born into poverty, Loncon has gained attention in academia with a Master’s degree and two PhDs.

Suggested Reforms of the New Constitution

Another woman elected to the convention is Carolina Vilches, a water rights activist. She believes that the privatization of water must end. The current constitution allows private companies to extract as much water from the land as they require. This creates desertification that makes agriculture difficult and forces many small farmers to emigrate to wetter land. Vilches’s presence in the constitutional convention suggests that private companies may lose their rights to do this.

Many commentators are also focusing on Chile’s unequal education system, which includes a large number of for-profit universities and their high costs for a bachelor’s degree. There are also severe and widespread teaching shortages. Expectations have determined that the constitutional convention will ban for-profit universities, which have been unpopular for years and only protected from the previous constitution banning them. Even so, a previous attempt to ban them in 2018 resulted in a narrow defeat with a six to four vote decision.

An Uncertain Future

The new Chilean constitution referendum will most certainly be contentious. According to a poll, half of the general population believes that there is a conflict between the rich and poor, but only a quarter of the economic elite hold the same views. If the private sector attempts to block certain reforms, many believe this will cause unrest similar to what occurred in 2019.

The convention’s outcome is uncertain as are the responses of the general population and the private sector. Regardless, the fact remains that Chile’s social inequality bears the strong possibility of radically reducing in the years to come with the new Chilean constitution.

– Augustus Bambridge-Sutton
Photo: Flickr

, , ,

How the Super 30 Program Breaks Cycles of Poverty in India

Super 30In India, the state of Bihar has one of the highest illiteracy rates in the country. For many impoverished children in India, quality education is out of reach. For this reason, many children are unable to rise out of poverty and pursue higher-paying jobs. Anand Kumar, a famous mathematician in India, set his mind to solve this issue through the Super 30 program.

Background of Anand Kumar

Anand Kumar grew up living near the railway tracks in a town in India called Patna located in the state of Bihar. His family was not financially stable yet his parents were very supportive of his education. Over time, Kumar discovered a passion for mathematics, which his parents encouraged him to pursue. While studying toward his bachelor’s degree in mathematics, he produced theoretical papers that “were published in foreign journals.” Kumar seemed certain of a bright future in mathematics.

His next step was to study toward a master’s degree in mathematics at Cambridge University. However, his father’s death in 1994 left his family financially unstable, leaving him unable to pursue this plan. In order to support his family, Kumar assisted his mother in selling “papad and wafers” on the streets of Patna. According to the Times of India, in order to continue studying mathematics, Kumar traveled to Varanasi to study at the Banaras Hindu University (NHU) library and access foreign mathematical journals. Not long after, in 1992, Kumar decided to open his own mathematical school, the Ramanujan School of Mathematics.

Creation of Super 30

In 2002, an impoverished student of Kumar’s came to him seeking coaching for the entrance exam for the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). However, the student was unable to afford the exam registration fee. At this very moment, Kumar came up with the idea for the Super 30 program. Each year, the Super 30 program selects 30 high-achieving academic students from impoverished families to receive “free lodging, boarding and coaching” in preparation for the IIT exam. After much coaching, many of these students are able to successfully pass the IIT exam.

The Importance of Super 30

Kumar’s Super 30 program operates on the premise that all children deserve an equal chance at success in education, regardless of their financial background. Some of the most intelligent children can be found in India’s most impoverished areas, yet they are at an immediate disadvantage because they cannot afford the private exam coaching and tutoring that children from wealthier families can afford.

Kumar’s students have a high success rate. In 2017, all 30 of his students passed the IIT exam. Since the beginning of the Super 30 program, Kumar’s coaching has benefited more than 500 students who are now qualified engineers.

These children, who were once unable to receive a quality education, are able to pursue their dreams of attending the most prestigious schools in India. Furthermore, with their final qualifications, these disadvantaged children can secure high-paying jobs that will enable them to break cycles of poverty. Programs such as Super 30 emphasize education as a proven tool for empowering children to rise out of poverty.

Inspiring Others

Super 30 has also inspired others to create similar programs. The Maharashtra Government was inspired to create its own Super 50 program to not only prepare underserved children for IIT exams but for other medical and engineering programs as well.

Programs such as Super 30 serve as a stepping stone to success. By inspiring more institutions to start similar programs, Kumar hopes for the world to come together to reduce global poverty through the power of education.

– Saanvi Mevada
Photo: Unsplash

, , ,

The Progress and Potential of Education in Kenya

Education in KenyaThe World Bank reported in 2015 that 36.8% of people in Kenya lived below the international poverty line, set at $1.90 per day. Estimates from April 2020 predicted that this level would continue to follow a slow downward trend to approximately 33.1% in 2020 and 32.4% in 2021. These recent statistics tend to vary across sources, however. For example, Statista reports that in 2020, 27.3% of Kenyans lived in poverty. Ultimately, sources seem to broadly agree that more than a quarter of the population in Kenya lives under the international poverty line. However, poverty rates could reduce by increasing opportunities for education in Kenya. The potential of education in Kenya reflects in the country’s successes over the years.

Poverty Reduction Progress in Kenya

Though the number of Kenyan citizens in poverty is undoubtedly high, Kenya has made great progress in reducing poverty in the last 15 years. In 2005, the World Bank found 46.8% of people living in poverty. This means that according to the World Bank statistics, poverty in Kenya has decreased by more than 10% in slightly more than 15 years. However, there is still a significant need for further poverty reduction progress in Kenya.

Eliminating poverty is crucial for a number of reasons as poverty has an irrefutable impact on other areas of life. One of these impacted areas is education. Global Citizen argues that poverty is the greatest barrier to education for children. Families living on less than $1.90 a day often cannot afford to send their children to school, whether that be due to high attendance fees, the cost of school materials or the need for the child to contribute to the family farm or business. Hence, addressing education is intertwined with addressing poverty in countries such as Kenya.

Educational Success: Free Primary School

Located in East Africa, Kenya is part of a region where harsh climate, violence and general instability lead to high poverty rates and limited access to education. Yet, in the education spectrum, the country has made great progress in recent years, showing the overall potential of education in Kenya. One successful initiative began in 2003, when the Kenyan government rolled out the Free Primary Education (FPE) program, waiving all primary school fees for students. As a result, Olympic Primary School in Kenya’s capital of Nairobi reported that enrollment nearly tripled. This growth in attendance seems to have occurred nationwide as UNICEF reports that before the COVID-19 pandemic closed many schools in early 2020, primary school enrollment in Kenya stood at 99%.

World Bank statistics show Kenya’s successes in improving education through FPE and other programs, with the most recent data from 2018 showing a literacy rate of almost 82% for people older than 15. This is up significantly from 72.16% in 2007 and 78.73% in 2014. Yet, despite these improvements in literacy and primary school enrollment rates, Kenya still struggles to provide high-quality education and see children through to secondary school. Though nearly all children in Kenya attend primary school at some point, many of them drop out to supplement the family income. In 2017, the Kenya Climate Innovation Center reported a 27% dropout rate in primary school.

Even if students complete primary school, very few of them go on to any further education. Statista reports that in 2019, 10.1 million children attended primary school in Kenya. However, only 3.26 million children enrolled in secondary school the same year and only 509,000 Kenyan students attended college in 2019. More recent data is not available due to widespread school closures as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Potential of Education in Kenya

Getting students into primary schools was the first step to improving education in Kenya. But, while the most recent World Bank data states that, in 2018, the Kenyan government spent 5.3% of the country’s GDP on education, schools are still short on resources and teachers. In some classrooms, the teacher-to-student ratio exceeds 1:100, leaving teachers overworked and overwhelmed. The government is working hard to increase the percentage of students who transition to secondary school but requires more resources to employ enough teachers and support high-quality education for students.

Overall, education in Kenya has seen a vast improvement in the number of students attending primary school in the last 20 years as a result of FPE and other work. Now, Kenya must look to improve in other areas of education in order to fully empower students with the tools and knowledge to rise out of poverty.

– Julia Welp
Photo: Flickr

,

Social Skateboarding Organizations

Social Skateboarding Organizations Provide Students With Needed Programs and SkateboardsWith its addition to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, skateboarding has become increasingly popular and recognized in the mainstream. However, underdeveloped countries typically do not have access to high-quality or even necessary equipment to get involved in the sport. Therefore, social skateboarding organizations work to ensure everyone has access to this healthy and beneficial sport.

Social Skateboarding

Skateboarding and social inclusion are what comprise social skateboarding. It promotes the idea that everyone should have the opportunity to skate, including traditionally marginalized groups. Aspects such as conflict, costs and social norms prevent many from becoming involved with the sport. These aspects affect girls, those with disabilities, refugees and more. On a global scale, this also includes those affected by global poverty.

Skateistan

Skateistan is a global skate organization made up of one hundred staff and volunteers from around the world. It runs five unique programs in its Skate Schools around the globe, benefiting underprivileged children from the ages of five to seventeen. Currently, it has Skate School locations in Cambodia, South Africa and Jordan.

Skateistan’s Programs

One of Skateistan’s main focuses is Outreach in which it provides Skateistan’s educators to children with limited resources. By doing this, it introduces new communities to skateboarding, providing families with critical social services. This program offers weekly opportunities for economically developing communities to engage in creative activities.

Another project from the organization is Skate and Create. This project aims to provide an inclusive space for young learners to develop healthy social relationships and learn essential life skills. Skateistan’s educators provide four annual curriculums focusing on wellness, equality, creative expression and natural science. The program offers a valuable experience for children regardless of their gender, literacy or current ability.

Skateistan’s Educational Programs

Skateistan also runs a Back-to-School program. The organization partners with schools and services to ensure students have access to quality public education. Using its partnerships, it works to align students with their national curriculums. In Afghanistan, Skateistan offers an accelerated program for students; students join the Skate School for five days a week, covering three grades of public education within eleven months. Once students complete this program, they enroll in their country’s public school system.

In addition, Skateistan’s Dropping In program gives students access to safe and accommodating learning spaces. Here, young learners can develop goals and get a better understanding of themselves. Students have the opportunity to utilize the Skate School’s facilities. Students can participate in skateboarding and sports events, read in one of the organization’s libraries, participate in weekly book clubs and study groups and use the Skate School’s quiet studying areas. This program continues throughout the year, providing children with a safe space even on school vacations.

Skateistan’s Youth Leadership Program

Finally, the social skateboarding organization provides students with a Youth Leadership program. This program allows students to facilitate and lead their communities. In this program, students collaborate each week, working on media training, event planning, international cultural exchanges and foundational safety skills to assist educators in class. This program provides students with the opportunity to learn leadership skills from Skateistan’s educators and a chance for involvement in their communities.

Goodpush Alliance

In addition to Skateistan’s own programs, the organization developed an initiative, the Goodpush Alliance. This initiative focuses on providing inclusive skating spaces to children around the world, providing support and knowledge between social skateboarding projects worldwide. It also offers grassroots and established global skate organizations training through, workshops, support calls, awards and online resources. These resources cover topics ranging from developing quality skate lessons to providing an inclusive space for children.

Rolling Thunder Supply Co.

Rolling Thunder Supply Co. is one of the leading suppliers of skateboards. Besides selling skateboards, the brand has a philanthropic stance on skateboarding, partnering with social skateboarding organizations to support their causes. For example, one of its most recent projects was with Make Life Skate Life. Rolling Thunder has promised to build two skateparks in 2021 and 2022 and support underdeveloped communities in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Make Life Skate Life has previously built skateparks in 20 economically developing communities across India.

The Heart Supply

Another social skateboarding organization is The Heart Supply. This is an organization that donates skateboards to underprivileged youth around the world. The organization uses a part of its proceeds from its skate decks sold online and in major stores like Target to provide quality skateboards to children in low and middle-income countries. So far, it has donated hundreds of skateboards in over 51 countries. This program offers impoverished communities a chance to experience creative and physical activity with high-quality equipment.

– Carly Johnson
Photo: Unsplash

,

Period Poverty in Mexico

Period Poverty in Mexico
Of the 127 million people in Mexico, 44% or 56 million live below the poverty line. Poverty often means a lack of shelter and food and not having the necessary resources to manage monthly menstruation. Without proper sanitation to manage menstruation, girls miss school and women miss work, along with other opportunities to overcome poverty. Period poverty in Mexico needs to be addressed to ensure that women and girls have the opportunity to progress in their lives.

About Period Poverty

Period poverty is the umbrella term for lack of access to sanitary products or the infrastructure to clean oneself during menstruation due to this economic, social and political issue. According to Global Citizen, “When people can’t manage their periods safely and with dignity, they miss out on school, [work] and opportunities to overcome poverty.” Menstrual poverty is an issue that COVID-19 exacerbated. An additional 3.8 million people in Mexico fell into poverty between 2018 and 2021 due, in part, to the pandemic. This rise in poverty is likely to have increased menstrual poverty.

Period Poverty in Mexico Schools

The lower chamber in Mexico approved a law in March 2021 to make female sanitary products, such as tampons, pads and menstrual cups, free in schools. The law still requires the Mexican Senate’s approval. If passed, the intention is to reinforce menstrual education to fight misinformation and bullying targeting menstruating girls.

There remains a lack of sexual and reproductive education, taboos about menstruation and the absence of the sanitary infrastructure for girls to maintain menstrual hygiene practices and dispose of sanitary products, adding to the obstacles around period poverty in Mexico. For women and girls, menstrual poverty perpetuates more poverty. Without menstrual products, water or pain medication, girls may miss school rather than risk humiliation at school.

Mental Health and Period Poverty

Beyond the lack of available menstrual products, missing school, work and other opportunities, girls who live with period poverty may also experience poor mental health. A limited ability to obtain menstrual products due to poverty can lead to anxiety, depression and feelings of embarrassment.

Period, a global nonprofit, and Thinx, a company that sells period underwear, recently implemented a study showing that two-thirds of teen girls experience stress due to limited menstrual supplies, along with feelings of shame and self-consciousness. In fact, UNICEF reports that half of school-aged girls would rather miss school than risk embarrassment of stained clothing from their periods. The fact that girls miss school has links to poverty, domestic violence, health complications and child marriage.

Menstrual products are necessary items that are often unattainable for girls and women facing poverty. This is partly due to the Value Added Tax (VAT) in Mexico that includes a 16% tax on sanitary pads and tampons and all items related to the management of menstruation.

In September 2020, Deputy of Movimiento Ciudadano Martha Tagle approached the Chamber of Deputies in Mexico with a proposal to eliminate VAT on sanitary products. Congress threw the proposal out after a vote with 218 voicing disapproval, 185 votes of approval and 11 abstaining from the vote. Congress stated that eliminating the VAT was not possible during the health crisis of the pandemic. However, groups such as Movimiento Cuidadano are making strides to reduce the cost of menstrual products.

Menstruación Digna Law

While Mexico is yet to remove the tax successfully, one state has made some headway. On March 3, 2021, Michoacán, Mexico, located in Western Mexico along the Pacific coastline and the ninth largest state in Mexico, passed the Menstruación Digna Law that incorporates menstrual education into health education in schools. Advocacy groups see this as a step forward for those experiencing menstrual poverty in Mexico and another positive move toward making sanitary products and menstrual education accessible to all girls and women in Mexico.

Impacts of Childhood Marriage on Period Poverty in Mexico

UNICEF has reported that girls who miss school or do not receive an education are more at risk of entering child marriage, experience pregnancy, malnourishment and domestic violence. Marriage as a child and teen pregnancies can exacerbate the cycle of poverty. Without powerful remedial measures, the World Bank estimates that the learning loss that has already occurred is going to cost girls in Mexico an average of 8% of their future income.

According to the World Bank, ending childhood marriage and educating girls can be powerful agents of socioeconomic change. Upon completion of school, girls are less likely to experience child marriage, face domestic abuse and suffer from long-term health complications. As a result, females who have education are more likely to have fewer and healthier children. These children then, in turn, are more likely to obtain an education and pull themselves out of poverty, thereby breaking the cycle of poverty. Educating girls around the world and in Mexico could shift the socioeconomic status and infrastructure of countries.

Ban on Plastic Applicators

In January 2021, a ban on plastic applicators in Mexico further exacerbated the issue of period poverty for girls and women. With a lack of access to tampons, women and girls are more at risk of missing more school. Experts have said that the ban could increase period poverty in a country where 43% of the population lives under the poverty line. For those in the lowest income level in Mexico, menstrual health accounts for up to 5% of their monthly expenses. A significant group of women in Mexico City also say that they cannot purchase tampons on e-commerce sites.

Eradicating period poverty in Mexico will support the world effort to end poverty by 2030. As Global Citizen states, “The world must act to end period poverty and guarantee clean water and sanitation for all by 2030. Promoting menstrual equity is key to supporting women and young girls.”

Advocating to end period poverty in Mexico is advantageous. Research shows that when girls receive education, gross domestic product (GDP) grows. A one percentage point increase in female education raises the average GDP by 0.3 percentage points and raises annual GDP growth rates by 0.2 percentage points.

– Sarah Mackay
Photo: Flickr