MDG's Part 2: Universal Primary Education

It’s easy to see why eradicating extreme poverty and hunger is a good development goal. Obviously millions of children should not be constantly hungry. But why is universal primary education an achievement the world should aim for?

Education is key if you want to do more than simply interrupt the poverty cycle – and we want to smash right through it for good. People who have been educated in some way are simply more likely to find a better job, no matter where they are. They generally have a wider variety of skills and are likely to receive more opportunities, and ultimately better education often means better rates of pay.

Little Shoes on Brothel Doorsteps

Imagine walking down an alley in the red light district of Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital city – filled with brothels, karaoke bars and massage parlours. Lined up on each doorstep are countless pairs of shoes belonging to the women forced to work inside. Looking closer you can see that a sickening number of these shoes are very small, belonging to the little girls who are either being raised by prostitutes or have been forced to become sex workers themselves.

Close to 100,000 girls are right now enslaved in Cambodia by sex tourism, pornography, forced child marriages and prostitution. The number of these girls who have been sold into the sex trade by members of their own families is shockingly high. Imagine the impact that would have on a little girl’s soul. Not only is her innocence taken from her, but she feels she can’t trust her own family. A typical response is to turn to drugs and forget the pain. Diseases like AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections are common. If she somehow escapes and goes home, her family and friends turn their backs on her because of her profession.

So what can we do?

David Cameron, Feeding Centres and the MDG's

Only a few days in power and already the pressure is on! Our new Prime Minister David Cameron has a huge opportunity to impress Britain and the world by doing his part to reach the United Nations’ eight Millennium Development Goals.

These goals include things like reducing child mortality, combating diseases like HIV and malaria, making sure primary education is accessible to everyone and ensuring environmental sustainability. These sound like such big objectives, but lots of great work is already going on around the world to make these goals a reality. Like what Viva is helping to do in Costa Rica to meet Goal #1- Eradicating Extreme Poverty and Hunger...

Working Kids in Bolivia

Bolivia could definitely stand to be voted Adventure Capital of the World. If you're looking for Amazon jungles or Andean peaks, this is the place for you -- just remember to bring your strongest bug spray. But is it a safe place for kids?

In Bolivia, one third of children are employed as workers in extreme conditions in places such as mines and sugar plantations -- that's 320,000 kids working from dawn till dusk for very little money. Many of them have started school, but are forced to leave to support their families.

While lots of the child workers are in the countryside, thousands of kids in Bolivia's cities are also working. Parents have to sacrifice the education of one child, usually the oldest, so that the rest can eat and go to school. Often these children go around the city streets with little carts, selling whatever they can. And it's not a big step from working on the streets to sleeping and living there full-time.

Community Albums

“I wish all adults, and parents, and all guardians, would give respect to children because at one time in the future they’ll be big, and very useful people in our communities.” ~ This is the voice of Norbert, grinning as he speaks for the children of Kampala through his very own Community Album...

A month into my stay in Kampala, things are getting really exciting. Last week I had the opportunity to meet two guys who flew here from the UK to start something called Community Albums with our network projects. Through the group of 113 projects we have linked up here in Kampala, Viva is hosting Community Albums on its first venture outside of the UK.

Ethiopia sets an Example

I recently flew to Ethiopia for meetings on something new and wonderful called the 4-14 Window. On my way out of the meetings each evening I saw groups of children huddled around fires, under whatever bridge they could find. In many countries these children would be forgotten, but in Ethiopia there’s a good chance the local church is taking care of them somehow. That’s because the church in Ethiopia has become one of the most enthusiastic defenders of children’s rights in Africa.

During childhood is when most people make the decision to become Christians – between the ages of 4 and 14. Luis Bush, the same man who brought us the geographic ‘10/40 Window’ of unreached people, has now bought into the idea of the ‘4-14 Window’: pressing churches to reach out to the children in their communities. Viva was a big part of the group that developed 4/14.