Millennium Development Goals

Goal  #2: Achieve Universal Primary Education
     by  Laura Amendola

This summer in Columbus, OH, the General Convention of the Episcopal Church named the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as the number one mission priority for the next three years.
To learn more about the MDGs and the Episcopal Church’s commitment, go to: www.episcopalchurch.org/ONE

As my second installment of my 8 part series I’m writing today about Goal number two of the MDG’s. The Second goal is to achieve universal primary education for both boys and girls by 2015.  

It is said that primary education for all children is a sustainable way to actually end world poverty. However, many children are never even given the chance to have the basic right of attending a primary school.  

Given the global nature of this goal—and all the Millennium Development Goals—it can seem overwhelming. Yet as Jesus suggests in his teachings about the Kingdom of God, it doesn’t have to start with an earthquake for something amazing to happen. "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” (Matthew 13:31)

 Here are the facts: 

• More than 100 million children remain out of school. (Source:UNFPA)

• 46% of girls in the world's poorest countries have no access to primary education. (Source:ActionAid)

• More than 1 in 4 adults cannot read or write: 2/3 are women.

• Universal primary education would cost $10 billion a year - that's half what Americans spend on ice cream. (Source:ActionAid)

• Young people who have completed primary education are less than half as likely to contract HIV as those missing an education. Universal primary education would prevent 700,000 cases of HIV each year - about 30% all new infections in this age group.

 So what can you do? 

• Join: www.millenniumcampaign.org a site with good info geared more towards Gen Xers but still good solid information

•  Give: if everyone gave just 0.7% of his or her gross income we could make universal primary education a reality… A suggestion for donations related to educations: Oxfam (www.oxfam.org)

• Read: there’s a lot of wonderful material available. My friend Rev. Philip Schaffner recommends a children’s book entitled, If the World were a Village by David Smith (2002).

• Click: www.sendmyfriend.org A great site for children and teachers alike. Perhaps start a “send my friend” campaign at your school (or your children’s school if you’re a parent!)

Read about the other goals:

Goal #1:  Eradicating Extreme Hunger and Poverty
Goal #2:  Achieve Universal Primary Education
Goal #3:  Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women
Goal #4:  Reduce Child Mortality
Goal #5:  Improve Maternal Health
Goal #6:  Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
Goal #7:  Ensure Environmental Sustainability

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