Through education, we gain knowledge, learn new skills, and continue to build on them. Every time we learn, we get better. When we get better, we present ourselves with new opportunities to bring out our full developmental potential.
Having an education prepares an individual to be an empowered, active member of their society. After all, it’s the combined efforts of individual, educated minds that leads to all developmental advances within a society, from healthcare to agriculture, business to government. The more educated the country, the larger its potential for positive growth and improvement.
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. – Nelson Mandela.
Whether you live in a world of poverty or a world of wealth, education remains one of the most important and necessary factors to promote advancement in any situation.
Education for the world’s poor and the world’s underdeveloped countries, though, holds the most importance. Countries which have a limited access to proper education fall behind, unable to keep up with the accelerated growth in the West. Issues such as climate damage, poverty, health problems, malnutrition and economic decline would greatly improve as a result of a better, more widespread access to an education.
One of the most effective ways we can promote change and offer help to a developing society, is to support and invest in education systems that will provide an education to all.
All children, regardless of their race, gender, privilege, religion should have access to an education which will help them grow into contributing members of their communities.
This is no small feat, and even in places where development and progression has improved, minorities and impoverished communities remain marginalised. Only once we realise that disregarding those who we perceive as ‘below’ us, ultimately leads to negative impacts on the wider society, stunting massive potential for growth and stability, can we start to move out of this prejudice and into more positive and sustainable changes. There is no ‘us’ and ‘them.’ A world where we are all equipped to contribute benefits us all.
At Kwah Dao, we are providing education to impoverished and disenfranchised communities in Pai, Northern Thailand. At our youth centre, we provide english classes and life skills to around 60 students who come from underprivileged and stateless communities. We support, promote and equip these students to eventually move into higher education or into employment, supporting them every step of the way. We have a very important scholarship program which helps us to provide this support.
We have a vision to keep expanding our efforts, but in order to do so we need more people to recognise education as one of the key ways to positively impact communities in a way that’s lasting and sustainable. Particularly those who volunteer.
Volunteering, (not to be confused with voluntourism), unquestionably aims to improve the livelihoods of the communities in which we serve, but the ultimate goal is to lead a community into being able to improve itself. That’s why access to education is fundamental if we want to promote real positive change and world development. By providing education and appropriate funding, we can one day envision self-sustaining communities that no longer need the efforts of volunteers.
