Back To School Basics For Children In Need
8/02/2007
Amidst the annual back to school rush, international development agency ChildFund New Zealand is urging New Zealanders to spare a thought for the estimated 115 million children worldwide who do not go to school at all and to consider the many others whose education is affected by a lack of basic learning resources such as pencils and books.
ChildFund National Director Paul Brown says, “We’re lucky to live in a country where every child has access to a free education, but for many of the world’s neediest children this is simply out of reach. We’re asking New Zealanders to help give these children the gift of education by spending as little as $22 to buy basic school resources which will make a real difference to a child’s future.”
“These resources will go a long way to helping a child get an education. It is a well known fact that those children who don’t complete school are less likely to have the literacy, numeracy and cognitive skills that can improve their prospects of earning a decent income in adulthood. Without education the cycle of poverty will never be broken for millions of children.”
“Countries struggle to develop when their citizens grow up poorly educated. It perpetuates poverty and low productivity, and can lead to instability or even spill over into violence and armed conflict. The healthy development of children not only safeguards their own well-being, it is also the best guarantee of future peace, prosperity and security.”
Through ChildFund’s ‘Gifts That Grow’ initiative, New Zealanders can choose from a range of practical gifts that will improve the educational prospects of vulnerable children – an important step towards helping them escape the poverty trap. Education not only benefits the individual child, but also their family and wider community.
A donation of just $22 will buy school equipment for a child in East Timor; $35 buys colouring pencils for a school in Uganda; and an $80 donation will provide books for a girls’ resource centre in Kenya.
Anyone wanting the satisfaction of knowing they have really helped turn a child’s life around could consider providing a $220 scholarship for an Ethiopian girl to attend school for a full year. Alternatively, a $660 donation to provide a teacher’s salary in rural Sri Lanka for a year gives the pleasure of knowing that the benefits will filter through to dozens of young children, growing hope and opportunity for the future.
Gifts for Education
School equipment for a child in East Timor $22
15 packs of colouring pencils for a school in Uganda $35
Books for a girls’ resource centre in Kenya $80
Scholarship for an Ethiopian girl to attend school for one year $220
Teacher’s salary for a rural Sri Lankan school for one year $660
Gifts can be purchased on the ChildFund website: www.childfund.org.nz/catalogue, or by phone: 0800 223 111
