Alpha 8 and their Project Comms Officer Jess Adsett considered how Millennium Development Goal 2 can positively impact social justice?
Students at the school in Siares
Here in Siares we are making a positive impact in our community through building a pre-school, with funding from the Myles Robinson Trust and working in partnership with UCA San Ramon, it is our hope to give more children access to education. At the moment 90 children aged 4 to 12 share one classroom with only a sliding wall to separate them. There is a lack of space and it is a disruptive environment, which has meant parents are not sending their children to school. We hope that by building the pre-school it will eradicate this problem as all the communities children will receive the quality and right level of education. This will hopefully mean more children are able to attend and could even mean children could have a better chance at moving onto higher education.
Mixing cement to lay the foundations
Children attending the current school
The Millennium Development Goals
Education is not seen as an importance by all of the community, especially when it comes to the women. There is a definite acknowledgement that they will eventually be needed in the home tending to the domestic chores whilst their partners work hard from dawn until dusk in the coffee plantations. It is their culture and maybe they don’t know how to change this cycle.
Alpha 8
Although not in primary education a local boy from the community of Siares, Gerald 15, goes to college but only on Saturdays, in the week he helps his dad by working on his plantation. Access to primary education could improve and positively impact this issue as the more children who have access the more it will improve and hopefully, maybe, one day education will be seen as more important.
Anthony working hard
There are people in the community of Siares that see education as important, Mauricio a host of Alpha 8, when asked if he wanted to pass the plantation over to his son said he wanted him to focus on his education first and manage the plantation from afar. He believes education will improve his son’s prospects and way of living. If people have this attitude, even in a small community, hopefully by helping promote social justice on a small scale, it could eventually cause enough of a ripple affect to reach a global scale.
Interesting fact about the world 1% of the global population are educated to college level
We are working to help achieve Millennium Development Goal 2: Universal Primary Education, it is our hope that we are making a positive impact as building this school gives every child, no matter their gender, race or wealth, an equal chance and equal start in life. We hope it can inspire them to use education as a way to fulfill their dreams and improve their lives. It has been said that this Millennium Development Goal won’t be achieved by 2015 however this should not be seen as a negative, education is always going to be there and will grow and improve ultimately helping to achieve all MDGs and will hopefully lead to a just and equal society.
