HOW TO SUPPORT EDUCATION?
Access to education is a major issue for children all across Southeast Asia
In these countries, there is a deep need for a well-educated and skilled workforce to break out of the vicious circle of poverty. Education is a huge factor. A World Bank report underlines an important topic of interest.
Indeed, poor quality education is holding back the region and nearly one-third of the world’s out-of-school children lived in South Asia.
The education challenge has never been higher in South Asia. At Children of the Mekong, we believe that giving children access to education is an essential development tool. The knowledge acquired by children will provide a better future for the next generations.
Why is supporting education essential to fight poverty?
Helping children to have access to education, have the main result of bringing down the poverty level of their countries.
SUPPORTING ECONOMY:
A report from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), published in 2017, has revealed if all adults reach secondary school, we can considerably decrease poverty in South Asia, by nearly two-thirds.
With the knowledge and skills, children will have acquired through school, they will be able to apply for more qualified jobs, receive higher incomes, and boost the economic level of their countries.
FIGHTING DISCRIMINATION:
Education is the most efficient way to fight discrimination and inequalities.
Children who receive a better education are more empowered and also can help their communities to defend their rights and change the mentalities.
More than a human right, education bonds together communities and people by promoting tolerance and understanding.
KEEPS HUNGER AWAY:
According to a 2013 UNESCO report, education has the power to keep hunger away. Indeed, 22 million fewer children would be stunted in South Asia, only as long as all mothers completed secondary education.
This situation can be explained through the education of women because educated women will be more easily able to satisfy the needs of their children. For example, they can ensure that their children have the best nutrients and help them if they get sick.
How can you support education?
1. Sponsor a child every month
You can support education with child sponsorship.
Each child is unique, the needs are consequently different from one child to another, and from one region to another.
With 28 pounds a month, the goal is to enable a child to go to school instead of working to put bread on the table.
For example, with the sponsorship money, the families are usually compensated (often in the form of sacks of rice) to counterpart the fact that their children are no longer working but at school.
Also, the sponsorship aims at improving the learning conditions, so the sponsorship money is essentially used to pay for school-related costs such as:
- School stationery,
- Uniforms,
- Transport
- Supplementary courses,
- Hygiene kits.
By choosing individual sponsorship, you can offer much more than education but also your moral support. You bring your sponsored child much hope and self-confidence.
This is a priceless way to support education and at the time to have a positive impact on communities in Asia.
2. Sponsor a group of children through collective sponsorship
First, what is collective sponsorship? It is a wonderful way to help by supporting one specific education programme.
At Children of the Mekong, there are many programmes where children are waiting for support. With 28 pounds a month, you donate to one programme and allow a group of children to continue their education despite difficult circumstances.
We are currently looking for sponsors for the street children in Manila and our education centre in Samrong, Cambodia, that provides access to secondary education to poor children.
If you would like to learn more about our collective sponsorship programmes, click here.
You will be updated on the progress of the programme you have chosen to support. And who knows, if you are lucky enough to travel to Asia, you may have the chance to visit the programme and see by yourself. You will not regret this experience!
Access to education is key for a better world
Supporting education in Southeast Asia is essential because it contributes to the economic growth of these countries, fight discrimination and malnutrition and give hope to children. Giving access to education is the key to a better world and the greatest way to break the cycle of poverty.
By sponsoring a child, you can give him or her a chance to continue their education and provide social support that encourages the families to keep their children at school.
And if you choose to support one of the local education programmes, you can help a group of children to have access to education and make their dreams come true.
FIND OUT MORE NEWS ABOUT CHILDREN IN THE MEKONG REGION
Transforming Deaf Education in Vietnam: The QIPEDC Project Success
(*QIPEDC: Quality Improvement of Primary Education for Deaf Children Project) Author: Shi Xian
People of Samar: the Waray tribe
On the island of Samar and its neighbors in the east of the Philippines lives an ethnic minority, the Waray tribe. With their own […]
Thailand: the Lost Children of the Golden Triangle
In the north of Thailand, trafficking activities have resurged and primarily target the most vulnerable individuals: unaccompanied refugee minors and street children.