This article is focused on these Sustainable Development Goals:
Going to school and getting a quality education is something that many of us take for granted. However, the recent pandemic has given us a taste of what it is like to miss the feeling of sitting in a classroom, discussing ideas with our friends, and learning from beyond a screen. It has also given us time to think about those who lack the education that they deserve.
Globally, more than 72 million children around the world remain unschooled. In some countries, more than 50% of children receive an education for less than 2 years. The lack of schooling results in negative effects on both the population and the country. The children leave school without having learned even the basics, which hinders the social as well as economic development of these countries. Although many developing countries have made efforts to fix this problem and provide education to children in rural communities, these efforts have not been enough to ensure that children get a quality education. For this reason, many children are not aware of pressing issues that surround their country and are unprepared to live in a world that is constantly changing.
Though countries have been making an effort to ensure equal opportunity to education for children of all economic backgrounds, these efforts have not been enough. For this reason, Reduced Inequalities, SDG number 10, still needs a lot of work to be reached. Even in countries like Nigeria, where primary education is free and compulsory, about 10.5 million of the country’s children aged 5-14 years are not in school. This means that many children, in particular, the children living in poverty, are unable to attend school and gain a quality education. This is true for many countries all over the world and is, therefore, an issue that we must work together to solve. We must ensure that every child, regardless of their gender, race, or economic background, has access to quality education in order to raise a generation that can change the world.
This means that it is our responsibility to share the quality education we receive with underprivileged children in our communities. Thus, in hopes of working towards solving this problem, an organisation known as Hope For Life had proposed a mentorship project to a club in my school.
Many children in Nigeria lack a quality education due to the limited resources available to them. All children, no matter where they live, should have the right to quality education. Through the Hope for Life Initiative, high school students will be able to connect with children in local communities and help expand their knowledge by educating them on prevailing subjects. Though most of us are not teachers and therefore do not have the experience needed to properly educate a child, we can still make an impact by mentoring underprivileged children through the years of experience we have been in schools which provide us with quality education. This way, not only would we be sharing our knowledge with our local community, but we would also be connecting with the children on a personal level.
The mentorship program founded by Hope for Life would work by providing students from local communities with resources to connect with high school students both online as well as in person. It would start by first connecting students based on their interest in academics, sports, music, and more. The sessions could consist of anything from teaching elementary level math to sharing knowledge about the climate crisis. After a few sessions of online connectivity, the students will have the opportunity to meet each other in person to form a more impactful connection. Though Hope for Life only works in parts of Nigeria, other schools or organisations could take this project as an example and start-up branches of it in their own communities. Students could take it upon themselves to create their own mentorship programs and form connections in their own local communities. We as the youth will be able to educate these children on pressing topics and expand their perspective and knowledge while also expanding our own knowledge and perspective of the culture in our local communities.
In the next few months, while we stay home as the world experiences a pandemic, let's take a moment to think about those who do not have the same opportunities as us. One way to help solve this issue is to find organisations that currently have mentoring programs in countries that have a low proportion of children in school. Through these programs, we will not only be able to teach the children how to adapt to a changing world but also we would be able to teach them the basic subjects to set them up for success. Some of these programs may be available in your city while some may be available online. Find the one that fits you best and take a step towards helping others. In the case that you cannot find any in your community and want to work towards helping the children in your community, you can start your own mentoring program from scratch (steps to help you attached below)! With the connections seen above to the UN Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 10, you can see that you too can help reach these goals by taking action and participating in programs that target prominent issues in our world. Remember, change starts with you.
Here are a few links to help you get started:
Works Cited
"Education." N.p., 16 June 2019. Web. 06 July 2020. <https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/education>.
"The Education Crisis: Being in School Is Not the Same as Learning." World Bank. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 July 2020. <https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/immersive-story/2019/01/22/pass-or-fail-how-can-the-world-do-its-homework>.
"Goal 4 .:. Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform." United Nations. United Nations, n.d. Web. 06 July 2020. <https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg4>.
"Goal 10 .:. Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform." United Nations. United Nations, n.d. Web. 06 July 2020. <https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg10>.
"Right to Education : Situation around the World." Humanium. N.p., 22 Feb. 2018. Web. 06 July 2020. <https://www.humanium.org/en/right-to-education/>.
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