Children

Government funding for remote schools in Vanuatu is minimal, if not wholly absent.  Many families fall outside the radar of the public education system because they live too far out of town and cannot afford commute expenses.

Deaf and hearing impaired children in the developing world are greatly disadvantaged.  The cost and maintenance of hearing aids is so high that most families cannot afford them, and must instead rely on an intermittent supply of donated devices and short-term ‘fitting teams’ from abroad.

Upon a backdrop of domestic violence, unemployment, gang crime and an endemic black-market of illicit substances, armed conflict has been tearing Colombia apart for some decades.  Sadly, many families have been caught up in the crossfire and it is not only adults who have taken up arms.

Although Zimbabwe is ranked among the best in Africa for literacy rates, premature school dropout and subsequent income insecurity are rampant.  Credit facilities have little on offer for those who lack collateral security, thereby limiting their earning potential due to lack of investment.  Some are labour constrained, whilst others are labour endowed; but almost all destitute Zimbabweans are food poor and without means to support their household.

The worldview of the Indian people towards the Dalit (lowest caste) means that they are denied the basic human right to education.  As global awareness has increased, international pressure has brought about some level of equality by reserving some places in educational institutions and government employment.

Approximately 80% of deaf Ugandans cannot read or write and 70% cannot count to 10.  In the past, few deaf children have been given the opportunity to go to school, and those who did usually sat uncomprehending and ignored.

There are an estimated 100 000 people living in the Philippines who are ‘hard of hearing’.  This means they can only understand words when spoken very loudly close to the ear and have severe difficulties if there are ambient noises.

In a country devastated by years of guerilla militia and political upheaval, the rights and opportunities of children with disabilities have fallen by the wayside on governmental agendas.  This school project assists hearing impaired children gain skills necessary for productive lives.

As is typical of most developing countries, the majority of deaf Filipino children are excluded from educational institutions because of economic, cultural or logistical barriers.  The choices for the poor are stark: they can either attend the local school where they are likely to fail unless concerted efforts are made to include them, or they can evade a formal education and accept little prospect of fulfilling a prosperous career.    

Much work has been done to standardise Kenyan Sign Language (KSL) so that the deaf across the whole nation can understand and communicate with one another, from Kisumu in the West to Mombasa in the East.  Now KSL is taught to an estimated 2 600 deaf children in 32 specialty primary schools.

Barriers of language, ethnicity, poverty and remoteness are all too familiar for children of minority people groups in rural China.  As they typically start school without knowing a word of Chinese, they are denied access from mainstream education and are confronted by a national curriculum which does not cater for their cultural diversity.

Casteism leaves no respite within Indian spheres of education.  The ‘untouchables’ are without rights and frequently subject to abuse and neglect from castes above.  Whilst growing international awareness has led to some positive intervention, it is from this group of people that the bulk of India’s unskilled and uneducated still come.

In Papua New Guinea, poor planning has resulted in rapid and uncontrolled expansion of primary schools which is exceeding the supply of qualified teachers.  Consequently, many remote schools have been operating with lessons taught by untrained teachers and volunteers, some of which have not completed primary school themselves.  Literacy competencies are low, and teaching equipment is minimal.

Since Syria was hit with the ‘Arab Spring’ riots, protests and civil unrest, security has been severely depressed. Despite rigorous political efforts and international pressure to end the crisis in Syria, violence across all 14 governorates of the country continues unabated.