Tag: education

Priyanka Chopra Visits Children in Ethiopia in Support of Universal Access to Education

Priyanka Chopra was recently in the news for traveling with UNICEF to Ethiopia to share with refugee and native children in the area. It was a big deal as the organization continues to work to help provide education in the country.

As a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, Priyanka got to travel to the country and meet with many refugee children and young people living in the Bambasi refugee camp, home to 17,000 refugees largely from Sudan, and Hitsats and Adi-Harush camps, where 55,000 refugees from Eritrea live.

“Children uprooted from their homes by war and disaster endure the most disruption to their lives,” Priyanka shared. “They miss out on education, healthcare and stability, which makes them extremely vulnerable to violence, abuse or exploitation.”

The actress got to see the refugee schools which were packed with students eager to learn and grow in spite of their circumstances. She danced and took pictures with them, but also listened to their stories and dreams. UNICEF is currently working with the government to help train teachers and provide books and other supplies, as well as building schools and classrooms.

“What I saw in Ethiopia is the capacity of human beings to empathize with and alleviate human suffering,” Priyanka shared. “Ethiopia is a shining example of what we – individuals, communities, and governments – can do to help those who have been displaced by conflict and humanitarian disasters by allowing an open-door policy to refugees and providing protection to those seeking asylum in the country.”

Watch clips of Priyanka’s time there below!

Universal access to education in our world is so important to carve the young minds coming up. Glad to see that Priyanka is standing strong with UNICEF and brought smiles to the faces of so many!

Kevin Durant Officially Opens The Durant Center In Maryland Hometown

No matter how big he gets, Kevin Durant will never forget about home! The basketball star came back to Suitland, MD, on January 23, 2018 to officially open his own center to serve the community.

The Durant Center will serve low-income and underserved students in Prince George’s County, MD, assisting them with college applications and graduation. The facility will offer academic, financial, and social resources to help these students attain their goals for school and their future careers.
“When my foundation partnered with College Track last year, we said from day one we wanted it to live inside a facility we could develop for Prince George’s County,” Kevin shared in an interview. “The opening of the Durant Center is truly a dream come true for me and my family.”

It’s no surprise to me to see KD launching this center. I’m from PG County, and I’ve seen and read about his giving back to the area, specifically when it comes to education. It’s important here and nationwide, especially in areas where some kids feel hopeless and without help. Kids everywhere should have access to resources and help from mentors and teachers to further their education. I know that this center will be extremely beneficial to students and I look forward to seeing more great news from the facility.

Watch a clip from the launch below!

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Malala Yousafzai Teams Up with Apple to Give More Girls Quality Education

Activist Malala Yousafzai is teaming up with Apple to work towards providing quality education for girls across the globe!

According to Mashable, Apple announced that it will serve as the first Laureate partner for The Malala Fund, Malala’s own charity. As that partner, the company will be working directly with Malala and her team as they continue their work to give girls 12 years of “free, safe, quality education.”

 

Malala met with Apple CEO Tim Cook in England some months back, wanting to collaborate to make a real difference in this world, particularly in education. The two even went on to visit Lebanese and Syrian students in Beirut, together!

“We believe that education is a great equalizing force, and we share Malala Fund’s commitment to give every girl an opportunity to go to school,” Tim said of involving Apple in the venture.  “Malala is a courageous advocate for equality. She’s one of the most inspiring figures of our time, and we are honored to help her extend the important work she is doing to empower girls around the world.”

Malala added in a statement of her own:

“Through both their innovations and philanthropy, Apple has helped educate and empower people around the world. I am grateful that Apple knows the value of investing in girls and is joining Malala Fund in the fight to ensure all girls can learn and lead without fear.”

With an estimated 130 million girls around the world out of school, the first goal is to provide over 100,000 of them with chances to continue their education. With Apple on its side, the Malala Fund is expected to receive twice the number of grants, and provide funding programs to areas like India and Latin America.

Of course, Malala has taken a major stance on the importance of education, particularly for girls, for a long time now, even before her attempted murder in 2012 by a Taliban gunman. Knowing that she could be harmed or even killed for taking a stand for education, Malala continued on anyway. Now, she is using her ideas and platform to truly help other girls receive an education of their own.

It’s incredible what she’s been able to do so far. But, with this collab with Apple, she and her foundation will be able to do so much more! Can’t wait to see what’s ahead.

 

Rihanna Collabs with Bike Sharing Program Ofo to Give Bikes, Scholarships to Malawi

Rihanna is big on the importance of education, even meeting with French president Emmanuel Macron recently to discuss the subject. Now the singer, collaborating with bike-sharing program Ofo through her own Clara Lionel Foundation, has created a five-year partnership to provide bikes and scholarships to students in Malawi!

The scholarships will help to pay for schooling beyond high school. The bikes will assist on cutting down on the long walks these students, especially the young ladies, have to make just to get to school. Some students, and teachers as well, have already been provided with some bikes to help get to class on time.

As a global ambassador for the Global Partnership for Education, Rihanna went to Malawi this year, where advancement in school is very low (only 8% of kids go on to secondary school). So it’s clear that she has a heart for these people, and wants to see them have more opportunities, especially the children. 

In addition to helping Malawi, Ofo is working with the CLF to give scholarships to students in China, Brazil, Cuba, Haiti, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, and Rihanna’s own native land, Barbados, who have been accepted to colleges in the States.

It’s really cool to me just how much Rihanna has been able to do charity wise since starting the CLF in 2012. Her foundation has done quite a bit specifically in education and healthcare, causes near and dear to her, and I love reading about it. I look forward to what else she and her team contributes to making this world a better place!

George and Amal Clooney Commit To Helping Syrian Refugee Kids Get Their Education

George and Amal Clooney have committed to helping Syrian refugee children get their education in Lebanon!

The couple’s foundation, The Clooney Foundation for Justice , is collaborating with Google and HP to support UNICEF, and the Lebanese ministry of education to open seven “second shift” schools for these kids (afternoon classes). With a collective $3.25 million donation from the three organizations, this project will help to pay for transportation, school supplies, computers, content, curriculum and teacher training for 3,000 currently out-of-school refugee students! These classes will be exclusive to Syrian kids to help them not only get up to speed with the other Lebanese children, but also to help them deal with their internal turmoil from their trauma.syrian refugee children

“Thousands of young Syrian refugees are at risk — the risk of never being a productive part of society. Formal education can help change that,” George and Amal said in a statement. “That’s our goal with this initiative. We don’t want to lose an entire generation because they had the bad luck of being born in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Currently, over 200,000 Syrian refugee children in Lebanon are out of school. This program will thankfully help a small portion of them, but hopefully more is done to help these children pursue education from other organizations and companies. Kudos to George, Amal and their foundation for lending a hand!

 

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