How Are Education Charity Organizations Helping Children in Asia?
Education charity organizations are instrumental in helping children in Asia. Here are some keys that make organizations effective in their ministry in the region:
Understand the conditions of poverty
Effective organizations working in Asia study and understand the poverty that consumes many families in the region. Globally, around 736 million people live on $1.90 per day or less, many of them children.1 Often, these people lack adequate housing, hygiene, health care and education because they simply don’t have enough money. As a result, they often pay a high price: disease, discrimination and, often, early death.2 Educational charities must understand the conditions these families live in and how it impacts their children’s education. Sometimes, parents simply can’t afford to send their children to school. Even in areas where education is free, families need to provide uniforms and other supplies. These cost factors keep many children out of school.
Remove the temptation for child labor
When families can’t afford to send their children to school, there is the temptation to send them into the workforce to supplement the family’s income. Children are often lured into the workplace with promises of education and other benefits only to face a starkly different reality. These children often work in deplorable conditions for little to no wages. When children are working, they are not in school and can’t receive the education they need for their success. Providing support for families increases the likelihood that children will not be used for child labor.
Teach children to hope and dream of the future
Educational charities are key to improving the ability for children to see beyond their present circumstances. Through education, children learn to read, and literacy is one of the great miracle cures of poverty.3 Education also motivates a child to break the cycle of poverty, and it gives them skills that will serve them into adulthood. Education provides an opportunity for children to dream of something better.
GFA World has been serving on the front lines in Asia since 1979. We work with both children and adults to help them break the cycle of poverty. Adults are trained in literacy and income-generating skills, increasing the likelihood they can provide for their families. Children in our child sponsorship program receive tutoring as well as school supplies and other resources for their family. These resources take the financial pressure off parents, helping kids stay in school.
Will you help us provide educational help to children and adults in Asia?
Learn more about girls’ education charities1 “Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2018: Piecing Together the Poverty Puzzle.” The World Bank. 2018. www.worldbank.org/en/publication/poverty-and-shared-prosperity.
2 Holt, Palmer. “Poverty: Public Enemy #1.” GFA World. 17 October 2019. https://www.gfa.org/special-report/poverty-alleviation.
3 Mains, Karen Burton. “Literacy: One of the Great Miracle Cures.” GFA World. September 3, 2019. https://www.gfa.org/special-report/literacy-miracle-cure-illiteracy.