created on Sep 30, 2015 modified on Jun 24, 2016 08:26
In many parts of the world, including our Peace Corps match village in rural western Africa, girls are unlikely to continue their education. This impacts their health and well-being, and later the health and well-being of their families and communities. We want to make connections and empower them to be healthy, educated women so they can foster vibrant, healthy families and communities. So we have the following challenge: How can we as students in California engage those in our local community and global network to support the ongoing education of girls in our Peace Corps match village in Africa?
As a result of our work, we will develop two things: a community event that includes student-created multi-media presentations and exhibits to share what we have learned with our francophone community in California and to enlist their support for the students' action plan to engage meaningfully with our Peace Corps World Wise Schools match community and increase the education rate of girls there. We also will be preparing a separate multimedia presentation to be disseminated online to the general public, but specifically targeted to organizations that are working in the country to increase the rate of education of girls there and explain how we plan to support their work in the country (exactly how we will support their work will depend on what the students decide to do).
NOTE: If this turns out not to be an issue with the new community with which we will be matched this year, we will examine other francophone countries in Africa, as well as Haiti and Cambodia (a former French colony where French is still an important second language).
1. Rights of children - Students will examine a variety of Unicef-inspired documents regarding the rights of children as an introduction to the concept of education as a right. more detail
2. Realities that obstruct education of children in central and West Africa. - This is an introduction to one situation that keeps children in general (boys and girls) from receiving an education: the obligation to begin working and earning money as young children. more detail
3. Working to ensure education for girls: one example - Students will learn about an organization that is working to increase the rates of education of girls in Cambodia (a former French colony). more detail
1. Meet the girls - Students will read bios of the girls and women in the village of our Peace Corps Volunteer in Togo more detail
2. Working with our Peace Corps Volunteer in Togo - Students will gather information "from the field" by drafting questions to send to our Peace Corps Volunteer match regarding the realities of education in the village where she is serving. more detail
