It's time to face the truth, for me. And time to hear the truth, for you.
When I took early retirement from my forty years of service to a non-profit international organization, I was all excited about finally being able to do what I really wanted to do in life (okay fine, for the first few months, I wanted to do absolutely nothing). Let's face it - most of us are simply earning a living at our regular jobs; no matter how meaningful the work is, the bureaucracies often eat the enthusiasts for breakfast!
I had always known that when I had nothing to do in life, I would do something for children since they represent the fate of our collective future. It is my strong belief that every child in this world must be given the opportunity to educate themselves because it is only through education that minds can be expanded to the point where intelligent and constructive choices can be made - choices that can nudge the fate of the person and the nation towards progress.
My research showed that in many parts of the world, girls are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to education. There are many barriers - financial, cultural, practical (these are discussed in other blogs). Statistics shows that an educated girl becomes a catalyst in transforming her own life, her family's life, and actually contributes to poverty reduction in her nation. So I decided to focus on this as my post-retirement mission.
My logic for solving the problem is very simple. There are more than thirty million girls in the world who should be attending primary school but are not. There are more than thirty million of us in the world who are capable of sending at least one girl to school for a year. So all I need to do is to connect one of these girls to one of those sponsors.
To make it even more simple, there is no financial transaction involved between the sponsor and EEG; no commission, no overhead costs (if money was my driving factor, I would have continued in my regular job for another ten years). Once a girl who should be in school is introduced to EEG, we find a sponsor, finalize arrangements between the school and the girl's parent/guardian to secure admission, and provide the information to the sponsor to directly pay the tuition to the school. EEG takes care of any additional costs related to books, transportation, uniform, etc. The proof-of-concept is in the three girls EEG has supported so far, two of whom are attending their third year in primary school this year with no cost to their families.
Imagine my disbelief when my biggest hurdle turned out to be not the issue of finding sponsors, but rather the issue of finding the girls who should be in school. My outreach was to the general public out there who own a phone/laptop and have access to the internet/social media. It is highly unlikely that a girl looking to go to school, or her family, would have such an access. It is highly likely though that people in countries where such disadvantaged situation exists who do have access to the internet would know a girl who should be in school. Most of these girls or someone in her family is probably working for one of those people. The request to connect such a girl to EEG required nothing more than goodwill on the part of the recommender.
Okay, I get it. We live in a world where some people, or maybe many, cannot be trusted. We live in a world where scams, frauds, deceits seem rampant - or maybe they are rampant. Maybe there are indeed a lot of people who are only interested in personal gain and would go to any lengths to just snatch from others what they want instead of earning it with their own hard work. I get it. But is it okay for the rest of us to just use that as an excuse for inaction on our part? Is it okay for the rest of us to simply stand aside and watch as bystanders our world being taken over by those negative forces?
If we do, what will become of these girls whose only plea is to be treated fairly? To be given an equal chance to educate themselves and better their lives? Are they doomed to spend their lives stuck in the kitchen, raise their siblings, bear kids, and die struggling with family challenges? And what of the opportunity cost that is being borne by a world losing out multifold on social and economic progress for every girl that remains uneducated?
I am now ready to face the truth - but I first need to reconfirm what the truth is. Is the truth that we now live in a world where good intentions are no longer valid? Is that the truth you want to hear? Or is the truth that there are far more people out there who want a better world and are ready to take action, but only once they have convinced themselves that an initiative to bring positive change is genuine and credible?
If you prefer the latter truth, then all you have to do is contact EEG with any concerns. You will lose nothing by taking action; but you will gain a lot in personal satisfaction by becoming instrumental in changing a girl's life for the better. There's no money involved and definitely no sharing of personal information by you as the person who connects a disadvantaged girl to EEG so she may go to school.
If you know a girl who should be in primary school, please connect her to EEG by filling out the Recommend a Girl form. There's nothing more that you have to do after that except feel good about having done what you did. You will find updates on the girl's education on this site. On the other hand, if you do know a girl who should be in primary school and do nothing, inaction on your part will only push the world towards the former truth. Can we afford that?
Together, we CAN change the world, one girl at a time.
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