Justice Friday- Education

-134 million children between the ages of 7 to 18 have never been to school.
-Girls are more likely to go without schooling than boys

-in the Middle East and North Africa, girls are three times more likely than boys to be denied education                                                                                                                                                          -For every year of education, wages increase by a worldwide average of 10 percent
-Educated mothers tend to send their children to school, helping to break the cycle of poverty.   Stats come from care.org

Getting Emma, our 6 year old, up and ready for school this winter has been a challenge. Emma starts school at 8:50 so I wake her up at 8. The thing about winter in N. Canada is that the light doesn’t show itself till 8:20 or so. I remember one morning waking Emma up and her looking at me as saying “why are we getting up dad, it’s still the middle of the night, I want to go back to sleep.”

The other reason that it is hard is the temperature. Today it was -25 c, or -13 f for you in the US of Eh! Last winter we were in Kona Hawaii, so we would get up, put on our flip flops, t-shirts and shorts and walk to school. This year we wake up, put on our socks, pants, shirt, sweater, jacket, ski pants, boots, tuque, gloves and drive to school in a car that is just as cold as the outdoors, but without the wind chill. To be honest, it sucks.

One thing I do know though is that it Emma is blessed and privileged to get an education and to be able to go to a good school. I was at a bible study last night and one of the guys there is in his 70’s and he barely knows how to read, it is sad to watch. This is the case for millions and millions of people across our world, and it breaks the heard of Jesus. But what can we do?

My friends Rusty and Lynette work at the Akha Youthh Developement Center in Chiang Rai, N. Thailand. Rusty and Lynette have been going there for since 2002 and recently have moved over there full time. Rusty and Lynette have helped start a sponsorship program where they are at to create opportunities for Akha kids and youth to attend school. It is a beautiful thing as many of the families there can not afford to send their children to school.

Here is how it works. Currently there are 99 students being supported by the AYDC, with 43 still in need of sponsorship. Sponsoring a child gives them the opportunity to continue on with their education as far as college. To sponsor a child it takes $40 US/month. This money will assist him/her with more nutritious meals, school uniforms, textbooks, housing, and tuition. Beyond this, a portion of the money will be placed in a scholarship fund. This scholarship fund will be available for high school and college level students to apply for once they graduate middle school. This, to quote the words of Bono when he spoke at the national prayer breakfast is “the best deal in town.”

I wanted to talk a bit about my friends Rusty and Lynette because I believe in what they are doing and they have given their lives to it. I, along with a few others are bringing approx. 30 students over there this summer to partner with them. We are very excited about it. If you are moved by what they are doing and would like to be a part in some way you can get to their blog here.

To close, I want to share the profile of one of the 43 children still in need of sponsorship. Chosida came to live at the Akha Youth Development Center because her village is too far from Thai schools. She has three other siblings, and her parents are rice farmers in her village. Her favorite color is blue. In the future she wants to be a nurse so that she can help other people. Some of her special skills include: singing, dancing, and playing sports.