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Bringing education to the world’s poorest children. Concern has been implementing innovative programs and solutions for over 40 years.

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”
— Nelson Mandela

• CONCERN WORLDWIDE

  
  

  Twestival is aiming to highlight eight areas which are preventing some of our poorest youth around the world from going to school and getting the education they need.

  Twestival events in cities and schools around the world will be selecting one of these areas to give particular awareness and fundraising focus to. These selected causes are identified on their Twestival event pages with a special icon. Find a location to donate to a specific project, or make a general donation here.

  Download Concern’s Education Pack

• BUILDING SCHOOLS

  
  
  

  Globally, there are 72 million children - majority of them girls - who are not enrolled in school. #twestival

  Millions more must learn in overcrowded, unhealthy, unsafe environments. Often, children must attend ‘outdoor’ schools, where they are vulnerable to extremes of weather and classes are irregular at best. Concern works closely with communities and local government to build and renovate schools and classrooms for the poorest, most vulnerable children.

  Average cost of building/renovating one school: $14,500.

• TRAINING TEACHERS

  
  
  

  1.9m new teacher posts will be required to meet the Millennium Development Goal of achieving universal primary education by 2015. #twestival

  Millions of children in the world’s poorest countries are taught by untrained, underpaid teachers in overcrowded, unhealthy, poorly equipped classrooms. Concern works to improve the skills and competence of unqualified teachers through workshops, training courses, and mentoring, and helps them achieve their qualifications. Concern also provides leadership workshops to school administrators, school management training, and develops and prints non-formal basic education curricula in partnership with government in some communities.

  Average cost of training one teacher: $300.

• FURNISHING CLASSROOMS

  
  
  

  With education, life expectancy rises by as much as 2 years for every 1 percent increase in literacy. #twestival

  In the poorest countries, children enrolled in school often do not have the benefit of even the most basic learning tools and resources such as books, paper, pencils or pens, desks, chairs, rulers, blackboards, chalk, and more. Concern provides these essentials for schools in the world’s poorest communities, and also pays for the costs of school uniforms for children from the poorest families who could not otherwise afford them and thus could not send their kids to school.

  Average cost of furnishing one classroom: $800.

• SCHOOL MEALS

  
  
  

  Undernutrition affects 175m young children each year, and a reason many do not attend school—a health & an education emergency. #twestival

  In the very poorest countries, where the most vulnerable families cannot afford to give their children even one proper meal a day, Concern provides students with a nutritious daily meal at school or in drop-in centers for working children, which encourages parents to keep their children in school, helps prevent malnutrition among the most vulnerable, and enables children to focus on learning.

  Average cost of providing one meal a day for a classroom of 30 children for a full year: $6,000.

• WATER FOR SCHOOLS

  
  
  

  Children in many parts of the world are forced to spend hours daily fetching water, and often do not attend school as a result. #twestival

  Illnesses and diseases caused by poor sanitation and unsafe drinking water are among the top five killers of children under five in the world’s poorest countries. Lack of access to safe, clean water in schools in these areas is a huge problem. Concern build wells, pumps, taps and other sources of safe water for the poorest schools, as well as latrines, and handwashing facilities, to help prevent unnecessary illness and death among children.

  Average cost of providing clean water for schools: $700 for a well or $2,000 for a borehole.

• REACHING THE VULNERABLE

  
  
  

  Education gives people a voice in their communities. It also makes people aware of their rights and opportunities. #twestival

  The majority of out-of-school children around the world are girls and children living in extreme poverty who must help support their households. Through its work with teachers, families and communities, Concern gets the most vulnerable children enrolled in primary school. Concern also supports “non-formal” primary schools with flexible hours and intensive learning to allow out–of-school kids (street children, child laborers, orphans, and the poorest of the poor) to catch up on the fundamentals and give them the chance to integrate into formal schools. Concern also supports “drop-in-centers” for working and street children, where they receive basic first aid, recreational activities, nutritious snacks, and learn reading and math.

  Average cost of providing learning for one out-of-school child for one year: $75.

• HEALTH EDUCATION

  
  
  

  Educated mothers are 50 percent more likely to immunize their children than uneducated mothers. #twestival

  To help raise awareness of some of the most deadly illnesses among children caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation, Concern provides health and hygiene education in schools. Children learn the importance of handwashing with soap, using sources of safe water for drinking and cooking, the importance of sanitation, and other vital health information. They go home and share this information with their families and neighbors, helping reinforce and spread messages that improve the health and survival of children in their communities.

  Average cost of providing health education for 1,000 children: $1,500.

• EDUCATION FOR GIRLS

  
  
  

  A woman or girl will reinvest 90% of their income into the family. A man will invest 30-40%. #twestival

  The majority of school-age children around the world who are not enrolled in school are girls. Through its work with teachers, families and communities, Concern is working hard to remove cultural barriers to girls’ education. Concern also makes sure that the schools are safe learning environments, as the threat of sexual harassment and violence are another major factor in parents keeping girls out of school.

  Average cost of providing education to one out-of-school girl for a year: $75.

Photo credits: 1. Primary school supported by Concern Worldwide, Shariatpur District, Bangladesh; 2. John Burgess, Ethiopia; 3. Katherine Freed Jennings, “Non-formal” school for orphans and street children supported by Concern Worldwide, Addis Adaba, Ethiopia; 4. Meals in schools in Nairobi’s urban slums, supported by Concern Worldwide, Nairobi, Kenya; 5. John Burgess, Ethiopia; 6. Ed Kenney, Concern’s “drop-in center for urban working children, supported by Concern Worldwide, Quetta, Pakistan; 7. Concern Worldwide, Sierra Leone; 8. Classroom for girls in Concern drop-in center for urban working children supported by Concern Worldwide, Quetta, Pakistan

Icon designs by Matt Grundy of Diecast Design