Education for All. Seminar of AVSI Volunteers
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Some 104 millions children worldwide are not enrolled in the primary school. This means that 14% of children worldwide do not receive any basic education. And girls represent the two thirds of them. Unesco, and all the governments and NGOs that, like AVSI, propose educational programs in poor countries, are fighting against this situation. “NGOs have contributed to a decisive extent to education in many countries – said the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan – and have joined the Global Campaign for Education. Today I am saying to the community of the NGOs that we cannot win this fight without their experience, their energy, their capacity of action”.
Practically all the children who do not attend school live in developing countries. Most of them live in Sub-Saharan Africa (46 million) and in the South and West of Asia (44 million). Approx. 40% of children who do not attend school have some form of disability. This number is bound to increase due to increasing poverty, armed conflicts, child labour, violence and AIDS/HIV infections. It is estimated that over 90% of disabled children in developing countries do not attend school.
Education provides people with the means and knowledge required to understand and participate in today’s world. It helps to support the human values contributing to the personal and community welfare. It makes people independent and aware of their own opportunities and rights. Education impacts on human development and economic growth and is an essential condition for democracy, for the development of people, for the growth of the poorest countries. Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), confirms that education represents, along with other needs such as food, house and water, one of the basic human rights.
Since the 1980s AVSI (Association of Volunteers in International Service) has worked to improve access and quality of education by targeting vulnerable children, particularly those orphaned by war and HIV/AIDS and former child soldiers. Through projects funded by USAID and the European Union, AVSI uses its background in psychological support to build education initiatives, vocational and skills training, and income generating activities for former child soldiers. This work touches the five key considerations in creating quality education: who learns contributes, environment, content, process and outcome.
A critical aspect of AVSI’ s intervention in this field is to build the capacity of education, social workers and religious and traditional leaders through training programs in psychological skills, classroom management, HIV/AIDS awareness, landmine awareness, peace education and the rights of children.
A residential seminar was organized at VIU in November 2006 with about 100 AVSI volunteers, coming from Latin America, Caribbean Islands, Africa, East Europe, Middle East Asia, to promote and analyze some present social-educational projects. The main aims of these projects are human development and awareness of personal dignity.
