“Education is a pathway out of poverty and Opportunity
International believes in the power of investing in one child.”
As my children return to school this week, I’ve been doing my best to not resist the change of seasons. Summer is my favorite time of year…so it’s usually hard for me to embrace back to school with wild enthusiasm.
But then I took a step back from my first world problems (that my local pool is closing + that my flower garden is starting to dwindle).
And I LEAPED into a place of GRATITUDE.
My Children Are Going To School….to learn, to play, and to grow. This opportunity is provided to my children 9.5 months out of every year. This opportunity to go to school is not an option for all children around the world.
A staggering 130 million children around the world are not in school — 70% are girls.
There are millions of MOMs around the world who would LOVE the chance to wake up early to get their children ready for school. They would love to nag their children to get dressed, eat breakfast, and put on their shoes on time. They would LOVE to prepare breakfast for their kids and to pack launches + snacks every morning (even if they are still half asleep and have been doing this same morning routine for years).
Did you know educated mothers are more than twice as likely to send their children to school?
Moms of these children that are not in school would be grateful for this monotonous morning routine because it would mean their children have clothes to wear, food to eat, shoes for their feet, and the opportunity to go to school.
And let’s forget…some of this children are without their parents.
Did You Know There Are Amazing People Working Hard to Send These Kids to School?
The amazing people at Opportunity International know that education is a pathway out of poverty and has seen the accelerator effect it has on improving lives and strengthening communities.
Unfortunately education is not free in Sub-Saharan Africa. Even public schools have big costs including fees, uniform, books, food, shoes, extra teacher payments, etc. Families are forced to cover up to 30% of primary education expenses.
Studies show that the number one reason that African families do not send their children to school is lack of financial resources. The second reason is lack of access to education facilities in rural communities (with governments not able to fund school construction and meet the demand).
Opportunity International is working to ensure all children have access to an education through school fee loans. With the assistance of loans, parents are able to afford their children’s tuition and thus change their future. Opportunity International also funds school proprietor loans – which allows people to open a quality schools in rural communities where there is need. Currently, Opportunity International has education programs in Ghana, Uganda, Malawi, Kenya, Dominican Republic and Rwanda.
You Can Help! Invest in One Child with this Inspiring Back to School Campaign
Opportunity International is working to raise funds to support its education finance initiative, which helps send children to school. Through this campaign, people can help send a child to school for $1 a day. A $240 donation is a representative amount families borrow from Opportunity International to pay for a year of school for one child.
Through the contributions of two generous donors, all donations to Invest in One Child will be matched dollar for dollar up to $35,000. This match encourages others to give likewise but is not contingent on additional gifts being received.
So far (at the time of publishing) 40,502 school days have been donated. Will you help break the cycle of poverty?
I wrote this post as part of The Global Team of 200, a highly specialized group of members of Mom Bloggers for Social Good that concentrates on issues involving women and girls, children, world hunger and maternal health. Individually we are all powerful. Together we can change the world. We believe in the power of collective action to help others and believe in ourselves to make this world a better place for our children and the world’s children.
Follow the Global Team of 200 on Tumblr, on Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook.
