Education
Sculptures, Singapore River
Naturally, as a qualified teacher, I have a strong interest in education and believe that it is fundamental to creating equality in the world.
One of the aims of this site is to promote and support education projects in the region. If you know of any please leave a comment.
I will be developing this page further in support of the rights of the child as declared in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is summarised here.
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Save The Children UK
“Too many children are still dying because they haven’t got enough food or because they can’t get treatment for simple illnesses. Millions aren’t getting an education and are being exploited and abused. This is not good enough.
We’re changing this, partly by working directly with children, and partly by using our experience and influence to persuade governments and others who are responsible for children to do the right thing by them…..
[In Vietnam] We’re helping minority ethnic children get a better education.
Up to 98% of Vietnamese children enrol in school. But many of them still don’t get a good education, particularly children who are poor and from a minority ethnic group.
We work in two mountainous areas where many people from minority ethnic communities are living in deep poverty. We want to help all the children here — especially girls — complete primary school and continue with a lower secondary education. Our programme reached 8,829 minority ethnic children last year.”
Read More About Save The Children’s Work In Vietnam.
See Also Save The Children dot Org
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Plan
“Plan is a child-centred community development organisation with no religious and political affiliations, enabling families and communities in the poorest countries to make lasting improvements to the lives of their children…..
[In Asia] although public schools often offer free tuition fees, the rising costs of transportation, food, uniform, books and school supplies are contributing to make education unaffordable for many families.
In the areas where Plan works about a third of children aged 0-3 are malnourished, almost the same proportion are not fully immunised, and only five in every 100 children aged 0-5 benefit from early childhood care and development activities.”
Read More About Plan In Asia.
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The Burmese Migrant Workers Education Committee
“BMWEC is a Community Based Organisation working on the issue of Education for migrants children in the Northern Province of Tak in Thailand and in the IDP area (Internally Displaced People) within Burma……
BMWEC promotes and coordinates education amongst the migrants and helps to provide schooling for children who are living through great difficulties. BMWEC delivers services to Migrant Schools such as funding for running costs, provision of stationary and other schooling needs, provides training and support for the teachers, gives legal support and works on advocacy for migrant education.”
Read More About BMWEC
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School For Refugee Children In Thailand
Steve Gomersall is a 2nd year psychology student at the University of Bath. This summer (2009) he is returning to Mae Sot in Thailand He is taking a sabbatical to establish a sixth-form school for young people who have fled from the regime in Burma. If all goes well over the next 12 months the school will come under the auspices of BMWEC. In the meantime Steve is currently looking for sponsorship for the intervening period. At the time of writing (May 2009) he needs 10 sponsors each sponsoring £10 per month for 10 months.
Read More About Steve’s Project in Mae Sot.
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East Bali Poverty Project
When I think of Bali I think of serenity, colourful garlands of flowers, beautiful villages and stunning rice terraces. I think of beaches, tourists and hotels.
I remember business visits to the island, old friends and past family holidays.
In all the years I have been visiting the island, perhaps to my shame, I have never thought that extreme poverty might exist on the island.
In 1998, thousands of people in a village of 19 isolated hamlets high up the steep and arid mountains of North-East Bali lived in abject poverty without roads, water, sanitation, adequate nutrition, health and education facilities, and hope. Children were the main victims:
- over 80% were malnourished and had goitre caused by iodine deficiency.
- of the 1,000+ families highest up the mountains, 70-100% were illiterate.
I was stunned when I first came across that information especially when I thought about how recent that was.
In that year, 1998, after an appeal by villagers, a British resident of Bali, David J Booth, established the East Bali Poverty Project (EBPP). When asked how EBPP, a non-profit organisation, could help them, the villagers were unanimous in their response: they wanted an education for their children.
“From education we have grown into programs which harness human and natural resources for mutual benefit to improve living ecosystems, provide sustainable food sources for thousands of people, provide sustainable livelihoods for the present and future, and ensure the preservation of the local environment and ecosystems through our various environmental initiatives. With the philosophy of “helping people to help themselves”, all programmes are designed as models that can be replicated, and executed by local people who directly transfer knowledge and appropriate technology within their communities.”
Read More About The East Bali Poverty Project.
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PEPY Cambodia
PEPY is a hybrid social venture. It consists of two autonomous though collaborative parts: an educational development organization, and a tour company (PEPY Tours). Seeing a need for educational resources and advocacy in developing areas and also a global desire for meaningful travel options, PEPY’s founders created organizations that fill this space at the intersection of development and tourism.
PEPY’s educational programs are locally managed and focus on teacher capacity building, educational advocacy in communities, and school support. These efforts are funded in part by PEPY Tours where travelers can explore rural Cambodia while learning about and supporting educational programs.
Read More About PEPY
