With so much focus on the importance of education at the moment, our work at Our Sansar seems to be more poignant than ever!
In the last month alone we have seen:
International Day of the Girl – this day highlighted the need for girls’ voices to be heard and for them to be given equal access to education. Stars from Katy Perry to Ruby Wax all turned out to show the importance in securing equal rights for girls all around the world.
Nobel Peace Prize – Malala Yousafzai became the youngest person to ever be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. An activist for rights to education she’s been campaigning for the past few years, writing blogs for the BBC, appearing in documentaries and giving numerous interviews. However, living in Pakistan where girls are often denied their right to education; Malala was last year targeted by the Taliban. Incredibly surviving a gun shot wound to the head and neck she has continued her campaign and become an inspiration across the world.
Girl Rising – A feature length film documenting the stories of nine girls from around the world and how education shaped their lives. The film was started as a campaign to ensure ‘every girl reaches their full potential’. Below is the ‘Nepal Chapter’ of the film featuring the tale of Suma and how education saved her life.
It is clear that the world is waking up.
EDUCATION IS KEY
At Our Sansar one of our main projects is helping to provide an education to children living in Nepal – both boys and girls. With 30,000 children living on the streets of Nepal, an education might be their one chance at gaining a promising future. And with Nepal’s literacy rates currently standing at only 47% the opportunity to learn to read and write is an invaluable skill.
Education can often be seen as a luxury, with 31% of children aged 5-14 in Nepal currently being involved in some form of child labour. At Our Sansar we not only provide them with the means to change their lives, but we also give them the opportunity to have fun, enjoy their childhoods and help them look forward to their futures.
Currently our OS Teacher Training programme has already benefited over 100 local teachers and over 2000 school children in rural areas of Nepal. With our Children’s Home Project currently underway we hope to increase these numbers and give many more children their right to education.
