Education Releases Children From Poverty
Poverty smothers the lives of children. Every aspect.
- It stifles physical, social and emotional development.
- It exposes them to harmful diseases.
- It amplifies the risk of violence, exploitation and trafficking.
- It wracks their bodies with hunger, insecurity and uncertainty.
Poverty locks the door to future success, curbing a child’s potential. But education busts open that door.
Poverty keeps some families from enrolling their children in school due to high cost of tuition, books and supplies. The children are needed to work and help provide for their family instead.
Cultural views on girls and women restrict education for some children, particularly when uneducated parents don’t understand the value of an education. Child marriage, safety concerns and lack of access to clean water all work to keep girls out of school. This devaluing of education and gender inequality mires children in a generational cycle of poverty.
Even if children can attend school, the quality of low-income school systems is often poor. Teachers lack training and schools lack resources or updated materials to teach in an effective way. They often fail to address the child’s nonacademic needs.
Many children come to school hungry or malnourished. If a school does not provide daily nutrition, the children’s ability to learn is impaired. A hungry child fights to maintain focus in and out of the classroom.
Without the benefit of an education, children struggle to develop the skills necessary to find employment and improve circumstances for themselves and their future families. A lack of education inhibits a child’s ability to dream of a fruitful life beyond poverty.
Breaking the Cycle
Unlike the majority of Bangladeshi, the Chakma indigenous group speak a tribal language. Not understanding Bengali puts the Chakma at a distinct disadvantage — namely in public schools where only Bengali is spoken.
Education up to grade five is mandatory in Bangladesh, but children from minority tribal groups usually drop out shortly thereafter. They join their families in menial agricultural labor, prolonging the poverty cycle. But Shanti is different.
Shanti receives sponsor support through Compassion. Among many benefits, sponsorship equips her with the books, uniforms and monthly tuition fees needed for her education programs.
Through the provision of her sponsor, involvement of the staff at the child development center, and her passion for academics, Shanti accomplished something unheard of in her entire community. She is trilingual, understanding not only Chakma, but also Bengali and English.
Shanti has taken the gift of her education and is using it to give back to her community by tutoring her neighbor’s children for free, extending the impact of what she has been given and helping to break the cycle of poverty for more children.
When formerly sponsored Compassion children were asked which component of Compassion’s program was most beneficial, the most common answer was “educational support”.1
How We Help Children With Education
Children in our Child Sponsorship Program receive a holistic education. In addition to attending their local school system, the children grow spiritually, physically and socially through program activities at their child development centers.
The Child Sponsorship Program:
- Provides the financial aid needed for school expenses such as textbooks, uniform, lab fees and tuition.
- Connects children with tutors, mentors and advisors.
- Teaches vocational skills and income-generating activities.
- Offers an opportunity to practice literacy skills through writing letters to sponsors.
- Includes nutritious meals, health care and medical screenings to ensure healthy bodies and minds primed for learning.
- Encourages them to get involved in their communities.
- Forges a new way for children in poverty.
Sponsor a Child’s Education Today
For only $43 per month, you can sponsor a child living in extreme poverty and give them access to education. Your sponsorship goes beyond education with Compassion International – you’re giving a child access to healthcare, food, water, clothes and so much more. Help ease the burden of poverty today by sponsoring a child.
Children are leaders. An investment in one child will multiply. As an educational sponsor donor, your sponsorship monthly donation launches youths into a successful future — one where the generational cycle of poverty is broken in Jesus’ name.
Get Started by Sponsoring a Child Today!