In the photo above, Global Fond for Education supporter Muhammud Yunus is pictured receiving the Medal of Honor in August, 2009 from President Obama.
Here are a few of the letters we wrote on Saturday:
Carrol-Cobble Courier
Letter to the Editor:
As our city council race heats up, what I’ve learned from the 39th district council candidates and my neighbors is that the number one thread that binds our district together is our unwavering desire for our children to get the best education possible. A sad truth of our world is that this unwavering desire is shared by the parents of 75 million children across the globe who can’t send their elementary age kids to any school. These neighbors from afar will continue to be denied this opportunity, an opportunity we can so easily provide, if our President fails to support the Global Fund for Education.
In Brooklyn, we know that educating kids is just the right thing to do. To us, it seems odd to hear President Obama’s justification that the “Global Education Fund [is required] to counter the radical madrassas that have filled young minds with messages of hate.” We Brooklynites don't buy that national security argument, we care simply because these 75 million kids, kids just like our own, might never have the chance to go to school
If there’s anyone in the Cobble-Carrol area who doesn’t care about children, and I haven’t met them, there’s still a strong economic argument to get kids around the world into school. The World Bank estimates that $92 billion in global productivity is lost due to the lack of education provided in 65 of the world's developing countries. You'd think the economists at the World Bank would help us do something about this – they did, they created the Education for All Act, which we signed and promised a mere $2 billion to. In case that number sounds big – its not – consider that Americans spend $22 billion each year on ice cream alone.
As we work on electing the best city council candidate to provide education for our children, and the children of our neighbors, the 39th district can help 75 million more children of our neighbors around the world by asking President Obama to make good on his promise to support the Global Fund for Education.
Dave Goodman
Brooklyn, NY
Sent to the Park Slope Courier
Next week I will take my daughter Ella to a store and she will skip down the aisles finding each of the items on her back-to-school supply list. This scavenger hunt is just the warm-up to a year of amazing experiences she will have. “Will I learn to read in kindergarten Mommy?” Ella asks with anticipation. “Probably!” I reply.
As an American, I am reminded how fortunate we are to have access to free education starting at age five when I hear that in the world’s poorest countries, seventy-five million children are still not in school. Over half are girls, and some 40 million are in countries affected by war or conflict.
The global financial crisis created in rich countries including ours, disproportionately impacts the poorest people in the poorest nations. This is one of the reasons why we must take responsibility now to provide a safe school for every child to learn and provide a chance for them to lift their families out of poverty and the health risks that accompany it.
Last week Mohammed Yunus, a founder of the micro-credit movement, Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland, and Desmond Tutu, former archbishop of Cape Town, called on President Obama and the other leaders of the G8 to fully fund the Global Fund for Education.
With full funding, the Global Fund for Education can help eliminate the school fees that keep many poor children from school and help create schools for others that do not yet exist. I, along with other members of the NYC chapter of RESULTS, join these inspirational leaders in asking all of us to implore our government to do its share.
Every child should feel excited about the first day of school.
Sarah E. Goodman
Brooklyn, NY
