Now, this is not my usual type of post… However, when I was contacted by the Human Relief Foundation, to help spread the word about what they do for children all over the world, I was interested to find out more.
This is not a sponsored post by the way, but just something I feel very passionately about and would like to share with you too.
I spend a lot of my time thinking up fun and creative projects for children. In my roles as both a teacher and as a parent, I am always thinking what I can do to encourage children to be imaginative and open minded. I love helping children to learn through play, creativity and exploration.
It can be easy to forget that we take education itself for granted. I know that I can send my kids off to school and that they will learn to read and write. They will have the resources they need to learn. Everything else is just icing on the cake really.
This is not the case for many of the world’s children. There are children all over the world who have no access to education at all. This has far reaching implications, as communities are forced to remain in a cycle of poverty.
Many moons ago I worked for a while in a school in Uganda, Africa. This is a country that has a lot of poverty. But it also has a universal education policy. So although the classes were huge and resources were tight, most children were able to go to school.
During my time in Uganda, it was amazing to see how much children valued their schooling and what a huge difference even basic education made to their lives. Often books and help from charities would arrive at the school. I saw first hand how the children benefitted from these and helped to set up a library in the school. I told myself then that I would never forget my experiences and to never take education for granted.
Sadly, many children in different parts of the world don’t even have a basic education. They may live in poverty, be orphans, or have been affected by conflict.
There are estimated to be over 153 million orphaned children around the world. There are also millions of entire families left vulnerable because of armed conflict and war, HIV and Aids, trafficking, exploitation and extreme poverty (UNICEF 2011).
That’s where the Human Relief Foundation come in. Human Relief Foundation believes every child deserves the right to an education.
I wholeheartedly agree. Education is absolutely key for children to learn and grow. To gain hope and opportunities to change their lives.
Human Relief Foundation has programmes to help people in need all over the world, including several programmes to help educate children specifically.
With the help of donations Human Relief Foundation has been able to build brand new schools in Ghana for hundreds and hundreds of young children who need basic education. This will make a real difference to a huge community of children.
There are also programmes to educate deaf and blind children in Somalia and to get girls back into education in Pakistan. Human Relief Foundation also helps orphans all over the world, by providing both food and school kits, through orphan sponsorship.
With the support of donors and volunteers, Human Relief Foundation is working to ensure that the world’s most vulnerable and impoverished children have sustained hope. Hope that can change their lives.
There are so many demands on our money these days. We have our own needs and strains in our lives. We want to help others too, but there are so many worthy causes and it can often feel overwhelming. I know I sometimes feel overwhelmed thinking about it all!
But it is important for us to remember that a small amount of help from us, can make a big difference to other people. Every donation to Human Relief Foundation, however small, will help the people who need it the most. It can help educate and give hope to children who need it.
As I sit reading with my children after school, or doing creative projects together, now and again I will remind myself how lucky I am. To live somewhere where my children are safe, loved and well educated. I want to remember the difference it makes when we choose to give a small amount of help to others. To remember my experiences in Africa. I hope I can also show my own children the importance of giving hope to others too.
You can read more about the Human Relief Foundation and what you can do to help educate children too.
Ah this is such a great post and good cause for a post. Well done Rosie. Like you said every donation, not matter how big or small will help so much. We are so lucky to have our children and be able to give them everything they need.
Such an important post. It is easy to take for granted the rights our children have and how they are lucky to get an education. We need to remember that all children are not as lucky and try to help so they can hope, like you say.