REBUILDING FUTURES THROUGH EDUCATION

Written by Vee Kativhu, All Hands and Hearts Ambassador – As a graduate of both Oxford and Harvard, a Girls’ Education Activist* and a Young Leader for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the United Nations (UN), Vee Kativhu understands the value of education. Vee has felt the deep inequalities within our education systems as a Zimbabwean and as an individual raised in a single-parent, low-income household. She has made it her life’s purpose to advocate for more equitable access to education for everyone, everywhere. Vee’s role as an All Hands and Hearts Ambassador is a core part of this mission.

Access to education is the cornerstone of most, if not all, human rights. It plays a key role in improving economic growth, gender equality and in strengthening democratic institutions. Access to education also ensures that communities thrive across generations in a sustainable and inclusive way. Most importantly, it recognizes the potential of an individual child – a future engineer, a poet, a politician or a doctor. 

However, education is often the first part of society to collapse when disaster strikes. In too many places, education is a privilege for some rather than a right for all. Disasters (whether climate or conflict-related) pose a far-reaching threat to educational stability. They damage core infrastructure, such as schools, routes to schools and medical facilities. They directly impact the livelihoods of communities by threatening food and job security. As a result, too many children around the globe grow up far too soon, with education often being their first sacrifice. 

School closures can have severe, lifelong impacts on students, especially young girls. For these children, their potential is capped before or just as they are starting to realize it. As restoring access to education is often not an immediate priority following a disaster event, affected students may not return to school for years to come, if at all.

We have reached a critical point. Approximately 250 million students are out of school. Climate insecurity and armed conflict pose serious threats to children yet to enroll in school and to those already enrolled. As climate disasters, armed conflicts and humanitarian crises intensify, this number may also increase.

All Hands and Hearts (AHAH) recognizes the importance of rebuilding education systems in post-disaster contexts. They understand the ripple effects felt by disaster-impacted communities who face a disruption in education. As such, they work alongside these communities to develop tailored solutions to minimize the amount of time that students are out of school.  

SDG 4 QUALITY EDUCATION

Much of AHAH’s work is centered around Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 Quality Education. SDG 4 is one of 17 goals created by the United Nations to address the pressing social, political, economic and environmental challenges we face today. In 2013, 70 countries agreed on 2030 as a collective deadline to make the world a safer and more equitable place. We are just over halfway to this deadline, and we are far from achieving these universal goals. For example, only one in six countries is on track to reach this SDG if we do not unanimously recognize what is at stake and take additional measures. 

AHAH’s Education For All Fund brings us one step closer to improving access to quality and sustained education. The fund enables AHAH to work with communities to provide safe, disaster-resilient learning environments for students around the world. Each brick and each piece of bamboo represents a renewed commitment to the potential of education. 

AHAH’s school rebuild programs focus not only on physical reconstruction but also on strengthening disaster-impacted communities’ resilience to future crises. Every disaster relief program is context-specific and tailored to the unique needs of each community. 

This individualized, community-centered method sets AHAH apart from traditional aid organizations. AHAH is dedicated to rebuilding communities from the grassroots upwards. They are committed to being on the ground, working alongside local communities hand-in-hand to meet their immediate educational needs.

Education should not have a one-size-fits-all approach, and neither should restoring access to education. 

Now more than ever, we need to invest in systems that serve our children. Now more than ever, your help is needed as a donor, a volunteer or by lending your voice. 

Together we can help All Hands and Hearts make education more accessible and inclusive for young people in post-disaster zones. Together, we can help make SDG 4, ‘Quality Education,’ a reality for every child, no matter their background.

Make Education a Reality for All

*A Girls’ Education Activist (GEA) is someone who works to reduce the barriers that prevent millions of girls and young women from receiving a quality education worldwide. These barriers include gender-based violence, early marriage, and socio-cultural stereotypes. A GEA works at the intersection between Sustainable Development Goal 4, ‘Quality Education’, and Sustainable Development Goal 5, ‘Gender Equality’. A GEA will often advocate at a policy and grassroots level.