Access to Education

It is no surprise that achieving universal education was deemed the second highest priority when the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals were established in September 2000. The statistics are staggering - over 72 million children worldwide are denied access to primary school, and over three times that number are unable to attend secondary school¹. Communities and nations suffer significant consequences when access to education is denied or nonexistent. Girls, and ultimately women, are often hit especially hard; women comprise two thirds of the world’s 785 million illiterate adults². Gaining even a basic education is crucial for life in more ways than one. Not only does one year of primary schooling raise wages five to 15 percent later in life³, but it also empowers marginalized people to stand up for their rights and gain access to crucial medical services and economic opportunities.

In an attempt to respond to all facets of the crisis, Global Goods Partners (GGP), in partnership with more than 40 community based organizations (CBOs), supports access to all levels of education. Many of GGP’s CBO partners provide early childhood, primary and secondary education for children - with equal access for girls. Others provide literacy and numeracy training for adults, particularly for marginalized women and widows. Still others focus on vocational training and business skills that empower women to pursue their dreams, contribute to their families’ income and become productive members of their communities. Finally, several of GGP’s CBO partners in indigenous communities are the sole provider of educational programs, helping to support a traditional way of life and to sustain local languages.

During the Taliban regime of the late 1990s, the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL) ran an underground network of schools, which was the only access to education for over 3,000 girls in the major cities of Afghanistan. AIL continues to bring education to women and others who need it most. In 2003, AIL opened Gawhar Shad University for Afghan refugee women living in Peshawar, Pakistan.

The UN estimates that there are over 150 million street children worldwide between the ages of three and 18. In the city of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the number of street children is estimated to be 10,000. Friends International (FI) provides primary education to over 1,800 of these children who would not otherwise have access to a basic education. For the more than 20,000 children working on the streets of Phnom Penh, FI’s community center serves as an asylum, where many essential services - hygiene, health care, vocational training and job placement - are available.

In the Mexican Yucatán state, the substantial Mayan population has been ostracized for centuries. Women in these Mayan areas are particularly marginalized by social norms that largely prevent them from leaving the home. El Hombre Sobre La Tierra works in three municipalities in the region, providing income generation opportunities and related educational programs for women. They offer classes in administration, IT, marketing and accounting, as well as trainings in craft production. They also provide essential agriculture training to help preserve the local habitat and create sustainable practices.

1 Campaign for Education, USA Chapter: http://www.campaignforeducationusa.org/learn

2 CIA World Factbook, “The World,” https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/XX.html.

3 Campaign for Education.