1GOAL - Education for All

By 2015 Africa should be turning a new leaf: overcoming the disease, famine and localised faction fights by focussing on education 4 all.  Financial circumstances, age and geographic location shouldn’t be a reason to stop anyone from learning.

When Ma Nkosi puts her three year old grandchild to bed at night and reads out a story to him, not only does little Sipho hear new words, but he hears them used in sentences so that he may begin to speak with correct diction, he learns of fantastical things which make him as a child curious, he wants to learn more and he asks questions. Ma Nkosi , could be of the millions who were before 2015 illiterate but who were given the opportunity by 1GOAL to learn to read and write. She now enjoys reading about the on-goings of the world in newspapers and even television and radio starts making more sense. She knows about the latest outbreak of malaria, what to do and who to go to treat it. Ntate Nkosi, Ma Nkosi’s husband, has also been able to advise the village on the use of their money. Last year they had a better than expected growth of crops. This was because of new farming methods which he had introduced. They made a lot of money from this and the community members are now saving for a rainy day. Everyone is happier.

The need for education has to be inclusive, keeping in mind that as much as the future leaders need to be educated, the primary care givers need to be the primary educators.

 If we consider South Africa as a microcosm of Africa, the focus on education on the younger generation has failed us in the “brain drain”. All the new young professionals with the knowledge and ability to add value back into society are searching for greener pastures. The few that make it beyond a secondary education are few and far between making it an uncompetitive, unchallenging experience. This doesn’t mean that the focus shouldn’t be on creating a learning environment for young people, it means that the environment should be wide-spread and available to all so that have the ability may have the opportunity.

Higher education undoubtedly has its role. Africa has among its people, some of the greatest academics historically. Higher education forms the basis of research into the new methods for solving problems unique to Africa. It also trains individuals to become part of the population that can contribute back into society and thereby become the society that runs the parliaments, courts, hospitals, schools and businesses that form the economic thrust of the country.

Furthermore, in this analogy, poor education allowed the spread of myths. In 2002 a myth called the “virgin cure“ spread faster than media could persuade people that they were being misinformed. Hundreds of young women were raped because HIV positive men were of the opinion that they could be cured by sleeping with virgins. Such transgressions can be dealt with if we have better education.

How can education for all be achieved ? Firstly by teaching the teachers, that’s teaching the educators that will be teaching in the many learning centres across Africa. Setting up these learning centres which are accessible to adults and children alike. Setting up libraries in all the centres.

William Kamkwamba is an inspiration in the way he used his thirst for knowledge and his belief that he could make a difference . He built a windmill in his back yard during the drought in Malawi. At first people thought that he was crazy, but later they revered his ingenuity.

People like William need to travel the continent to promote the idea of education. The fear associated with ideas different to tradition will always grip us. We need to find icons to help us overcome the fear.

My dream for education by 2015 is simple. Make it easier for all of us as Africans to be educated so that we can survive.

 letter to 1GOAL campaign

 Naeema Kharsany 

(on behalf of ReDineo)

19 September 2010

There comes a time...

A time comes in your life when you


finally get it. When in the midst of all

your fears and insanity, you stop dead in

your tracks and somewhere the voice

inside your head cries out- Enough!

Enough, already! Enough fighting and

crying, or struggling to hold on. And,

like a child quitting down after a blind

tantrum, your sobs begin to subside, you

shudder once or twice, you blink back

your tears and through a mantle of wet

lashes, you begin to look at the world

through new eyes. This is your awakening.





You realize that it is time to stop

hoping and waiting for something to

change, or for happiness, safety and

security to come galloping over the next

horizon. You come to terms with the fact

that he or she is not Prince Charming and

you are not Cinderella and that in the

real world there are not always fairy

tale endings (or beginnings for that

matter). In addition, you realize that

any guarantee of " happily ever after "

must begin with YOU, and in the process a

sense of serenity is born, a sense of of

acceptance is reached. You awaken to the

fact that you are not perfect, and that

not everyone will always love, appreciate

or approve of who you are or what you

are, and it is OK nevertheless. After

all, everyone is entitled to their own

views and opinions. In addition, you

learn the importance of loving and

championing yourself, and in the process,

a sense of newly found confidence is born

of self-approval.





You stop procrastinating and blaming

other people for the things they did to

you (or didn't do for you) and you learn

that the only thing you can really count

on is the unexpected. You learn that not

everyone will always be there for you,

and it is not always about you.

Therefore, you learn to stand on your own

and to take care of yourself and in the

process a newfound sense of safety and

security is born of self-reliance.





You stop judging and pointing fingers and

you begin to accept people as they are,

and to overlook their shortcomings and

human frailties... and in the process a

sense of peace and contentment are born

of self-forgiveness.





Your shoulders drop, your neck relaxes,

and you smile.





You realize that much of the way you view

yourself, and the world around you, is a

result of all the messages and opinions

that have been ingrained into your

psyche. And you begin to sift through all

the crap you've been fed about how you

should behave, how you should look, how

much you should or shouldn't weigh, what

you should wear, where you should shop,

what you should drive, how and where you

should live, what you should do for a

living, who you should sleep with, who

you should marry, what you should expect

of a marriage, the importance of having

and raising children, or even what you

owe your parents.





You learn to open up to new worlds and

different points of view. In addition,

you begin reassessing and redefining who

you are and what you really stand for.

You learn the difference between wanting

and needing, and you begin to discard the

doctrines and values you have outgrown,

or should never have bought into to begin

with. In the process you learn to go with

your instincts. You learn to distinguish

between guilt and responsibility, and the

importance of setting boundaries and

learning to say No.





You learn that the only cross to bear is

the one you choose to carry, and that

martyrs are burned at the stake.





Then you really learn about love,

romantic love, and familial love. How to

love, how much to give in love, when to

stop giving, and when to walk away. You

learn not to reject your needs or your

feelings onto a relationship. You learn

that you will not be more beautiful, more

intelligent, more lovable, or important

because of the man or woman on your arm,

or the child that bears your name, as the

case may be.





You learn to look at relationships as

they really are and not as you would have

them be. You stop trying to control

people, situations, and outcomes. You

learn that just as people grow and

change, so it is with love and you learn

that you do not have the right to demand

love on your terms, just to make you

happy. In addition, you learn that alone

does not mean lonely.





And you look in the mirror and come to

terms with the fact that you may never

be a size 7 or a perfect 10 and you stop

trying to compete with the image inside

your head and agonizing over how you

" stack up. " You also stop working so hard

at putting feelings aside, smoothing

things over, and ignoring your needs.





You learn that feelings of entitlement

are perfectly OK, that it is your right

to want things that you want and that

sometimes it is necessary to make

demands. You come to the realization that

you deserve to be treated with love,

kindness, sensitivity, and respect, and

you will not settle for less. In

addition, you allow only the hands of a

lover who cherishes you, to glorify you

with his or her touch and in the process,

you internalize the meaning of

self-respect.





In addition, you learn that your body

really is your temple. You begin eating a

balanced diet, drinking more water, and

taking more time to exercise. You learn

that fatigue diminishes the spirit and

can create doubt and fear, so you take

more time to rest... your body as well as

your mind, because just as food fuels the

body, laughter fuels our soul, so you

take more time to laugh and to play.





You learn that, for the most part, in

life, you get what you believe you

deserve, and much of life is a

self-fulfilling prophecy. You learn that

anything worth achieving is worth working

for, and that wishing something to happen

is different from working toward making

it happen. More importantly, you learn

that in order to achieve success, you

need direction, discipline, and

perseverance.





You realize also that you and you alone

are responsible for your own life, and

that you must stand on your own two feet,

let go everybody else's hand, and do what

you need to do to take care of yourself.





You also learn that no one can do it all

alone and its OK to risk asking for help.

You learn that the only thing you must

truly fear is the great robber baron of

all time: FEAR itself. You learn to step

right into and through your fears,

because you know that whatever happens

you can handle it, and to give in to fear

is to give away the right to live life on

your terms.





You learn to balance those two facts...

standing on your own and asking for

help... so that you don't just use other

people to do what you yourself must do.





You learn to fight for your life, and not

to squander it living under a cloud of

impending doom. You learn that life is

not always fair, you do not always get

what you think you deserve, and that

sometimes, bad things happen to

unsuspecting, good people. On these

occasions, you learn not to personalize

things. You learn that God is not

punishing you or failing to answer your

prayers. It is just life happening. In

addition, you learn to deal with evil in

its most primal state: the ego.





You learn that negative feelings such as

anger, envy, and resentment must be

understood and redirected, or they will

suffocate the life out of you and poison

the universe that surrounds you.





You learn to admit when you are wrong,

and to build bridges instead of walls.

You learn to be thankful and to take

comfort in many of the simple things you

take for granted... things that millions

of people upon the earth can only dream

about: A full refrigerator, clean running

water, a soft warm bed, and long showers.

Slowly, you begin to take responsibility

for yourself by yourself, and you try to

make yourself a promise to never betray

yourself and to never ever settle for

less than your heart's desire. In

addition, you hang a wind chime outside

your window so you can listen to the

wind. In addition, you make it a point to

keep smiling, keep trusting, and to stay

open to the possibility of a very

wonderful future.





Finally, with courage in your heart and

with God by your side, you take a stand,

you take a deep breath, and you begin, as

best as you can, to design the life you

want to live.





And you finally learn to smile with new

contentment.
  Author:  Unknown