One Girl At A Time

 

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” ~ Nelson Mandela

 

The organization Girl Rising estimates that there are 62 million girls worldwide who do not attend school. Some reasons why girls don’t attend school include war, violence against women, cultural norms about women being educated, lack of access to schools, and lack of resources to pay school fees.

This past year, I have had the privilege of actively participating in providing girls with access to education for the first time in their lives. The first, critical step in their education is to obtain literacy. Literacy will provide them with the tools and training to access information in the curriculum taught in classrooms and information available beyond classrooms. Literacy is power.

In February, I started supporting Alnas’ education.

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Alnas is 8 years old and attends Razia’s Ray of Hope Zabuli Education Center in a small town outside of Kabul, Afghanistan. The 480 girls who attend the Zabuli Education Center receive a free education, uniforms, shoes, a warm coat, and meals. They are picked up daily for school in school buses for securiy reasons. These girls and their parents are bold and brave to seek education in a country that is hostile to girls becoming educated. I believe that Alnas and her classmates will in time change their world.

A few days ago, I received a hand-written letter from Alnas. I was so excited!

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In Kratie Province, our Cambodia 2015 Mission Team facilitated the start of Cambodian Care Ministries’ Light of Future School #3 by providing Year 1 Curriculum for 160 children.

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School opened for the first time on September 7, 2015.

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Although I cannot visit Alnas, I look forward to visiting the children in Kratie Province next summer and seeing in person how education is changing their lives.

Have you ever considered supporting a young girl’s education in a part of the world where access to education is limited?

 

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” ~ William Butler Yeats

 

(photo credits: Alexis Lopez, Kratie Province, Cambodia, August 2015; Koy Chhim, Kratie Province, Cambodia, September 2015; Razia’s Ray of Hope 2015)

About Linda Freeman

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Linda Pulley Freeman combines her specialized training in environmental and chemical engineering with her deep ministerial commitment as she serves mission fields at home and abroad.

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What People Are Saying

  • I love this! I am glad you provided an update — I had been wondering how it was going! We sponsor two girls in Guatemala — one is 21 and was able to complete high school and is now taking vocational courses. The other lives in the mountains and is much younger (around 8 ….). Through our sponsorship she is able to have access to education and supplement her indigenous dialect with Spanish, which will help her communicate more effectively. The power of education is incredible.

    • Paula!

      Education is powerful!

      Linda

  • Thanks for the update. I was not able to dial in due to my location on Sunday. Will be dialing in on Sunday!

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