Back to school

Around here most of the kiddos have been in school for a week. Some private schools and states have been in session for a few weeks and some haven't started up yet. I guess we sort of fall in the middle. And, my guess is that the majority of us, no matter when we start, take education for granted.

In honor of education and its importance I give you some facts gathered by Compassion International.

• Worldwide, nearly 80 percent of primary-school-age children attend school. In least developed countries, this figure is around 66 percent.
• The largest out-of-school population is in sub-Saharan Africa, where around 45.5 million children of primary school age are out of school.
• Of the 67 million primary-school-age children who do not attend school, 53 percent are girls.
• Worldwide, only 49 percent of children of secondary school age actually attend secondary school.
• Of the 49 percent of secondary age students who do not attend school, 52 percent are girls.
• The world’s functional illiterates include more than 130 million children who do not attend school, 73 million of them girls.

These numbers are heartbreaking. 

 I looked up information about the education system in The Dominican Republic where our Compassion kiddos live. I found out it ranks as one of the worst in the world. Heartbreaking. The article by Katie Manning came out May 12, 2014 for Deutsche Welle and states extremely low pay makes it hard to get qualified teachers. Can you imagine trying to live on less than $350 a month? When I taught for a private school I only made about $6 an hour. Teachers there make even less. Hard to comprehend that's possible. Schools are also extremely overcrowded and dropout rates are high. 

At least I know our kiddos are getting extra attention through the Compassion programs they attend. My hope is that education reform will truly take place in their country. 

You can help a child/children reach for the stars and get the educational help needed by sponsoring he/she/them through Compassion.