Some of us take for granted some of the privileges we have living in Canada. We fail to realize that a lot of people don’t have the same opportunities to go to high school and postsecondary, even grade school, as we do. In my developmental psychology class, we learned about how some young girls in underdeveloped countries are banned from attending school. Rather than giving them the chance to learn, their parents to tell them to stay home and help out with chores due to various factors such as poverty and gender inequality. There are also young boys who are forced into working in child labor and do not have the chance to get an education like children in Canada do.
There are many factors that prevent young women from attending school. Young children are forced to become child slave workers, sex w0rkers, or get involved in violent groups such as ISIS. They don’t choose how they want their lives to be. Education is one of the most important things that all children should have the opportunity to have and the United Nations is working to achieve this goal.
To give back to our world, we not only get the great feeling of helping others, but we also give them the opportunity to look at the world in a new way.
The UN created the ‘Education For All’ Agenda in 2011 where they outlined their plan to provide education for young children in countries like India and Uganda. They talk about the conflicts, natural disasters and violence that these countries experience. The agenda discusses funding and other resources that are necessary to achieve this task of providing education for young children in least developed countries. To read more about this plan, click here.
Young children are being forced into child labor, child marriages, and other illegal actions that they never chose to be part of. This video made in 2012 by The United Nations Economic and Social Council shows the epidemic of the ‘forgotten children’ and how the UN continues to plan to provide education.
We must remember that young children are the most vulnerable population. It is important to know the significance of empowering the younger generation into becoming the most powerful educated individuals that they dream to be.
There are many programs that are active today that have the same goal as the UN such as:
Education in Africa – AID IN AFRICA
If you or anyone you know would like to learn more about how you can help with providing education for young children around the world or for volunteer opportunities, please visit the following sites to get involved: