One man, Adam, was visiting India when he was inspired and
heart broken by the devistating encounters he had with the Indian children.
“It began with a question. A small boy begging on the streets of India.
‘What do you want most in the world?’ I asked, ‘A pencil.’” Adam, like many people,
is starting to realize how important it is to educate the youth all around the
world to give them a future instead of resorting to things that could cause
self harm or even death. Many children in impovershed countries are either
forced into labor, slavery, marriage at such a young age, or simply can’t
afford or don’t have access to an education. It is because of organizations
such as ‘Pencils of Promise’ is fighting for the right for all children to be
educated. This organization is dedicated to fulfilling childrens rights to an
education, by giving them access to a learning environment by building schools
in impovershed areas, and educating the public on the lack of child education.
According to the Right to Education Project, all children
have to right to learn and be educated for a better future, and they are doing
everything possible to uphold that right. This committee has many goals to aim
for to give children easier access to education. “States Parties recognize the right of the child to
education, and with a view to achieving this right progressively and on the
basis of equal opportunity, they shall, in particular:
(a) Make primary education compulsory
and available free to all;
(c) Make higher education accessible to all on the basis of capacity by every appropriate means;
(d) Make educational and vocational information and guidance available and accessible to all children;
(e) Take measures to encourage regular attendance at schools and the reduction of drop-out rates.”
(c) Make higher education accessible to all on the basis of capacity by every appropriate means;
(d) Make educational and vocational information and guidance available and accessible to all children;
(e) Take measures to encourage regular attendance at schools and the reduction of drop-out rates.”
As you can see, they have
considered many specific ways to try and increase the amount of kids going to
school, or at least primary school. The fact these essentials aren’t available
in the first place is saddening. However, the lacking of these things has
caught the publics attention. They are now focusing on the most important ways
to increase how many children go to school. By giving them easier access and
even to encourage kids who feel the need to drop out. These are all effective
ways, to help a child get a better education. These children are however,
discriminated against based on their color, race, gender, etc.“States Parties shall respect and ensure the rights set forth in
the present Convention to each child within their jurisdiction without
discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the child's or his or her parent's
or legal guardian's race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other
opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or
other status.”This quote states that
there is obviously an issue with kids and their race, gender, sex and religion.
Discrimination is brought upon these children and they are often denied the
access to education despite rights that state they should have the same
schooling oportunities as more well-off children. The Rights to Education
Project has cleary stated the difference between right and wrong and are
working to give children the standard needs and help them for the better.
Though the Right to
Education project is a good way of informing the public, the Pencils of Promise
organization is about taking action and doing what’s right by building schools
in places that are in need.Pencils of Promise is trying to focus on a specific goal
that they are steadily aiming to achieve. “we focus on building
strong structures and sustainable education programs. By forming long-lasting,
collaborative relationships with communities, we increase access to quality
education and positively impact students and parents in high-need communities
throughout Laos, Nicaragua, and Guatemala.”Pencils
of Promise is a non-profit ogranization that takes action because other people
are failing to do so. They are focused on the good of the children as
they are willing to put in time, without getting paid, to build these schools,
sometimes with their own two hands. Aiming to give a better future for these
kids, Pencils of Promise is hoping to impact people with a need for a basic
foundation of education.With out that, children have much less of a future in
life, they are more likely to fail to get employed because of their lack of
knowledge. “Poverty rates for high school dropouts is three times higher than
poverty rates among high school graduates. Poverty rates for men and women at
different levels of educational attainment show a gap that narrows as people go
up the educational ladder. For example, in 1994 the poverty rate in the U.S.
for men 25 to 54 years of age who did not finish high school was 27% and 38 percent
for women.”
It is of course, most important to educate the children, but the easiest and sure fire way to do so is by educating the public as well.The public has the power, they hold everything in the palms of their hands, money, opinions, connections, voice, you can do something, but with the public on your side, you are more likely to succeed. “Thousands have joined us, making contributions through acts both large and small.There are more than 75 million children without access to education, and we intend to change this.” Pencils of Promise is a steady organization, but it really depends on the public's reaction. They are trying to gain as many followers as possible by reaching out to different communities. Adam Braun, the CEO, has connections to people around the world and uses that to his advantage. For example, Adam’s brother, Scott (a.k.a Scooter) works in the music industry and has signed many well known artists such as Justin Bieber, The Wanted, and PSY. He then ecourages them to reach out to their fanbase and get them to support. It’s connections like these that help children around the world. If you intend to make a change, you have to get the public to listen.Although you have the public’s attention, they may feel that what they can do is so little, that it’s almost no help at all. “We’ve learned that education is a living, breathing entity that with the right nurturing, evolves into something spectacular. We’ve learned that every piece of its growth is a challenge and that each pencil, each dollar, each volunteer is essential.” This organization is trying to make it clear that always do what you can. Every dollar, every bit of help they can get, is leading them closer and closer to a better life for these kids. The problem is that people are almost too lazy to help out. For example this generation of teenagers is known for procrastinating. Meaning we will put things off until it becomes a dire situation. But in this case, we can’t wait, we have to start giving now. This situation is already urgent as it is. By connecting with the public and putting idea’s out there, you are more likely to succeed with your goal, especially it it has good intentions.
Without the Pencils of Promise organization, there is a steady group of leaders ready to fight the battle against uneducated childrem by creating simpler access to schools, reinforcing the childrens right to an education, and getting the public to notice and take charge.So here’s what you can do to help, go to this page an find out what you can do for these children in need, wether it’s hosting a bake sale, putting up flyers, collecting donations, do something for the good of your fellow global citizens.
