Education

Education is one of the most important things that we, as parents, can provide for our children. Unfortunately in many third-world countries, education is often not an option. According to a website, www.dosomething.org, girls are less likely to start school at all, while boys tend to drop out or have to repeat a grade. In developing low-income countries, every additional year of education can increase a person's income by an average of 10 percent. Children who are born to educated mothers are less likely to be stunted or malnourished and each additional year of maternal education reduces the child's mortality rate by 2 percent. We as Americans don't often have to deal with facts like that. However, many of these children even get the privilege of going to school or even being able to write or read their own names, especially girls. In fact, 53 percent of the worlds out-of-school children are girls and two-thirds of the illiterate people in the world are women. That's so sad. Education empowers women to make healthier decisions regarding their life. For example, women in Mali with a secondary level education or higher have an average of three children, while those with no education have an average of seven. That goes to show you exactly how important an education actually is. My point here is that giving children an education should interest those who want to improve poverty levels around the world. Beyond this limited audience, however, my point should speak to anyone who cares about the large issue of uneducated children in the world.