Elementary school teacher Najat Murillo believes battling global poverty begins in the classroom, that is, with a solid foundation of education worldwide. Murillo’s online company, Live the Give, works to address the lack of funding towards public education that is leaving millions of people around the world without schooling.
Live the Give is an e-retailer of eco-friendly journals. 15 percent of the company’s sales revenue is donated towards Global Campaign For Education’s (GCE) “Fund the Future” initiative. In addition, it collaborates with other organizations that are dedicated to making education accessible globally and advocates a global citizenship.
“I have always wanted to help children around the world enjoy a better quality of life and a more hopeful future,” says Murillo. “I believe the best way to do that is by giving them the opportunity to be in school and by improving the quality of their education. I am determined to spread the awareness of the importance of global education and the impact it has on our society.”
Live the Give’s products range in price from $9.50 to $15.50 and are made from 100 percent recycled paper. Its best sellers include personalized journals, complete with custom cutout designs.
Customers may write a message of up to 12 characters that will then serve as the cover’s cutout design. Shoppers may also customize the journal’s font design, notebook size and background color. U.S. customers have the benefit of $3 flat rate shipping.
GCE is a nonprofit organization composed of national coalitions that include NGOs, community organizations, teachers unions, parents associations and child rights advocacy groups. These groups are stationed in 90 countries around the globe, a few of whom are on the regional or international level.
Fund the Future is a GCE campaign aimed at pressuring governments towards financing and supporting global education. The campaign was launched in 2011. GCE has managed to get nations around the world talking about establishing public education and since its founding in 1999 has succeeded in enrolling 4 million more children in school.
Currently, the campaign calls for governments to provide free, quality and universally accessible education.
While Murrillo’s donation may appear to only make a dent in this global issue, every penny counts. Amazingly, only $39 billion would be needed to help send every child in the world to school for a year. This is equivalent to the amount of money spent at Walmart every 30 days.
– Jenna Salisbury
Photo: Flickr