Campaign, Page 2
Day #2 of
Literacy: Every Child, Every Adult
Welcome back to Day #2 of “Literacy, Every Child, Every Adult.” Today I want to talk with you about the transformation that can come into the lives of children, adults, and families when they have an education.
Life in Kouve, Togo, West Africa is not all that different from life in any small town in the US. The context is very different but the role of an education is not.
For the people of Kouve, providing children and adults access to an education can transform their lives forever.
Take Silvia for example. If she does not attend school then she is most likely going to spend her youth and adult years working in the fields of a local farm. Or, you may find her walking the street begging for money because her family cannot afford to buy the food and clothing they need to survive on what the adults make. And for sure there is no way they can pay the tuition and purchase the supplies it takes for her to be in school.
Left on her own, she could wander into the jungle and be bitten by a snake or accidentally swept away in the waters of a rushing river. Both of which have happened before to children in Kouve, and when it does they don’t usually survive. But there’s more..
Sylvia will not get the self discipline that comes from the rigors of studying, reading, or writing reports or papers. She will miss the social development that comes from functioning under the authority of a teacher or school administrator. She will not know how to be a part of a group or team that comes from recess, sports, or group work. But most importantly, she will never know about that part of her that can only be discovered while participating as a student in school.
Without an education, Silvia’s future is uncertain at best.
With it .. well ...
Access to an education provides children and adults the opportunity to become all they were created to be.
Like Silvia, Justin also was not able to go to school while he was young. Now an adult, he struggles to make enough money to support his family. He works long hours with little to show for it at the end of the day. And there is no way his kids will be able to go to school. And so the cycle continues. A kid without an education becomes an adult who raises his kids without an education.
Not too long ago Justin became aware of new job openings in the big city not too far from Kouve. Full of anticipation and excitement that he may finally find a way to care for his family in a way he has only been able to dream, he heads out before the sun comes up to be first in line for an interview. But when he gets there he is handed an application. He walks away with his head hanging low, rolls the paper into a ball, and then tosses it as far as he can throw it. He cannot read, nor can he write. Just like that piece of paper, his dreams of being the provider he always worked hard to be fly away in the breeze.
But something very special happens when he returns home. He hears of a program launched by the Bonding With Children Foundation that will teach him how to read, write, and do basic math. He immediately gets plugged into the program and returns home with great hope. He says to himself, “The next time I travel to the big city to apply for work I will be able to complete the application process and get that job!”
That’s the kind of transformation that comes when children and adults have access to an education.
This campaign, “Literacy, Every Child, Every Adult”, will help give the Silvia’s and Justin’s of Kouve the opportunity to become all they were created to be by providing them access to a life transforming education. So, how can you and I help make this happen?
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