Calpakis1 Isabella Calpakis Instructor: Malcolm Campbell English 1103 September 30, 2013

Education for African Children in Need

13-year-old Pascal Mwanchoka and his ten-year-old brother scour the streets of Nairobi for scrap metal. If none is found, then they must go to sleep hungry. The boys mother is an alcoholic, and they are living alone on the streets. Education is not their priority when starvation is their death threat, but what if education could turn their lives around? According to dosomething.org, the African continent has areas with less than 50 percent literary rates among children ages 18 and under. The chance of these children learning how to read and write decreases as they become older and must support a family. Education should be a right, not a privilege, but unfortunately, it is realistically the other way around. The barriers between first world and third world countries are more complex than simple laws; Schooling in sub-saharan Africa states that of all the worlds regions, Africas economies rank last in wealth as well as in rate of growth (xxi). If primary education were to be offered in regions of Africa, such as Congo and Tanzania, a growing concern that would need attention over the years is population growth and control. Schooling for all children would be ideal, but would that be

Calpakis2 realistic? The dilemma is that no child should be left behind. A familys monetary status should not be a determinant of whether or not a childs mind can handle an education. According to USA Today, governments in African declare that education is free, but of course there are hindering factors. Public secondary schools this year failed to report that there would still be charges for transportation, field trips, teacher conferences and building swimming pools for schools. There is only so much that outside relief efforts can help; rather, change must start from within, and then spread. In Wine to Water, Doc Hendley attempts to bring clean water to the regions of Darfur, but some of his efforts prove futile when politics become involved. His work is demolished, making it only temporary. Developing countries need to break the glass ceiling of poverty themselves in order for their living conditions to match those of citizens of developed countries. Over the years, the cost of providing education in Africa has risen. Teachers salaries have been raised, and the issue is that these salaries are usually paid for the government. However, it would ne next to impossible to have Africa fund their own teachers, when their GDP is around 3.3 percent (Jolly). U.S. partners and Kenyan community leaders have met to decide on a development strategy for the entire community. In these discussions, factors such as lack of access to water and poverty were prominent (Sunal). Grassroots empowerment initiatives were found to be more effective than a top-down approach (Sunal). The African communities must make a united decision to attempt to teach their children. It must be recognized that education can do more than stimulate the mind; it can help teach self-reliance.

Calpakis3 When you give a person knowledge, it can never be taken away. Children are the future of their own countries, and they will directly affect a countrys progress. Education is easier and more efficient to provide now compared to previous generations through the greater availability of technology. Technology can serve as an outlet for these children and they can begin to understand the issues surrounding them. Education is one of the most powerful weapons to place in the hands of a child; with it, he can change the world, and help those around him. Rather than AK-47 machine guns, young boys in war-torn areas should only be carrying with them the information that will assist and guide them in further helping the world around them. In addition to a classroom setting, these children need to learn in a hands-on environment. They need to understand the diseases plaguing those around them, as well as the causes, and learn what it is like to work medical miracles on patients in a hospital. They need to understand diplomacy, and learn why countries, governments, or tribes are at odds with one another. They need to be in the field to understand how they can make a difference with this information. They will have the most powerful voice in the future if they can start to understand how inequities can be solved or helped. God helps those who help themselves; if children in need of education start to help themselves, their families, and their communities rise from poverty, then they will be helped and they will begin to see actions fall into place. Some 46 million African children nearly half the school-age population have never set foot in a classroom, according to the United Nations (USA Today). However, it is not too late. With the right access to resources initiated by the more fortunate, students can begin to learn the empowered feeling of learning something new.