GOAL 2 OF THE MDGs

Last week I talked abut the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The purpose for it set up and the eight goals set. I said then that I'll be taking the eight goals one after the other so as to read and digest as it goes. I started with Goal 1, which is to ERADICATE EXTREME POVERTY AND HUNGER. I do hope we enjoyed it.

Now we'll take a look at the second goal and see what it has for us.

GOAL 2 (ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATION)

While some of us are complaining about doing homework, many children only wish they could go to school. Lost of young people have to work in order to support their family instead of going to school and, in some families, girls are expected to stay home and help with chores, forcing them to give up their own education. Providing children with a basic education is the best investment the world can make in its future. Education reduces poverty by providing everyone with choices and opportunities to create a better life for themselves. Goal 2 aims to make sure that children everywhere-boys and girls alike-are able to complete a full course of primary schooling by 2015.

In our world today:

• 115 million children are not in school-56 percent of them are girls and 94 percent of them live in developing countries.
• 133 million young people cannot read or write.
• Only 37 percent of 155 developing countries have achieved universal primary school completion.

What needs to be done?

Governments have to increase their support of primary education and ensure equal distribution of money to rich and poor areas. Once in school, governments have to create strategies to ensure children stay in school complete their primary education. In many cases, children in developing countries are forced to drop out to support their families. Governments also need to eliminate school fees and uniforms, building schoolhouses closer to housing, and hire more female teachers to achieve Goal 2.

How are youth affected or involved?

Education gives young people a stronger voice in society, and creates the opportunities and choices that allow them to lift themselves out of poverty. Many young people are actively working on bringing primary education to disadvantaged children by becoming peer educators, teachers, and mentors, but a lot more work still needs to be done. You can help make sure every boy and girl goes to school by reminding your governments of their promises to achieve Goal 2.

So, you too can do something in your area. See those little kids working around doing nothing, organise a kind of tutorial for them and you'll see the difference. Even when you do it for free at the beginning, definitely somebody, somewhere will surprise you one day.

I hope somebody is going to do something and make things happen.