Education - the key to lasting change
January 1, 2013
“Education is the key to achieving other rights”
There is rarely one single cause to poverty.
And once poverty has struck, its impact can spiral. One deprivation leads to another and multiple rights are lost. Children are hit the hardest.
Our partner communities in Latin America and Africa know this too well. Girls can`t go to school because they are required to spend hours a day collecting water, children of market-less farmers are too malnourished to learn, and grandmothers of HIV orphans are trapped in impossible situations.
There is rarely one single solution to poverty.
Change for Children`s international projects rarely support a singular action. Effectively addressing the causes and consequences of extreme poverty requires a holistic approach. A water-well can dry up quickly if there is not proper management. Crops may continue to fail if knowledge is not shared. Guided by locally-led project partners that know the barriers (universal and unique) that challenge participating communities, Change for Children projects can have lasting impact through appropriate, holistic solutions. And for any solution to be sustained, there must be education.
CFCA’s definition of “education” moves beyond books and classrooms to a broader vision of involving all men, women and children in accessing the tools and knowledge necessary for unlocking access to all human rights, including: food, water, health, gender equality, and democratic participation in the sustainable development of their communities and environments.
Education is the force that can build the path out of poverty; it enables foundational solutions and creates opportunity. For those living on less than $2 a day, opportunity is desperately needed.
For those of us who recognize the injustice of so many having so little (and how much we actually have), our education is equally important. Our southern partners, including our visiting community leaders from Nicaragua and Uganda, help us understand the issues, the impacts and our own opportunities to contribute to solutions.
Education – there can be no lasting change without it.
Please help us ensure critical projects are funded.Your donations make our holistic projects possible.
~Shelaine Sparrow, Manager Communications & Fund Development