Shine A Light (ENG)

2009-2010

Education Changes the World

Education is a powerful tool and without it few of us would reach our full potential. In refugee camps very few girls have the opportunity to pursue their education beyond primary school and without education these young people have no way out.

Shine A Light - Overview



Let’s Shine a Light on what girls can achieve if they overcome the challenges they face in accessing education in the refugee camps. With your help we can provide these girls with the tools they need to learn, to strive, and to succeed.



For over 30 years, the WUSC Student Refugee Program has been providing opportunities for young refugees to pursue higher education in Canada. Among the students sponsored by WUSC, men greatly outnumber women because few girls finish high school. This is a situation we aim to change.


Shine A Light - Overview Expected to help with

domestic chores and the care of siblings, the girls in the camps often miss school or discontinue their studies altogether. Many girls can only find time to study after dark in camps that lack electricity.

The first phase of our campaign focuses on raising money for safe, cost-effective solar lamps to enable girls to study at night.



Once we’ve reached our goal of providing 1000 girls with access to solar-powered lamps, donations will help the girls obtain remedial training to make up the schooling they missed out on, provide them with needed school supplies and finally offer scholarships for promising young refugee girls in Kenya and Malawi.


Why Girls?• 62 million girls of primary age worldwide are

out of school.

• The gender gap in education is biggest in sub-Saharan Africa, with 23 million girls completely missing out on school.

• In many African countries, only one in four girls receives a secondary education. At the post-secondary level, there are twice as many male students as female ones.

• Barriers can be religious or cultural, but are more often simple constraints such as lack of teachers, uniforms, textbooks, or sanitary supplies.


Education: A Positive Force for Girls

• Educating a girl dramatically reduces the chance that her child will die before age five.

• Educated women are more likely to have healthy, spaced pregnancies, which leads to healthy and educated children.

• Educating a girl improves her ability to support herself and make informed decisions about her own life.

• Educating a girl provides her with the confidence to value her body and appreciate her self-worth. This allows her to have a say in the wellbeing of herself, her family and her community.

• Educated girls can secure better jobs that provide benefits to the entire family.


Phase 1: Solar Lamps - $10,000Every $10 donated will enable one more girl to access solar-powered light.

Phase 2: Remedial Education and School Supplies - $50,000Every $20 donated will enroll one more girl in 1 month of remedial classes. Phase 3: Scholarships - $40,000Every $1000 donated will provide a girl a scholarship for 1 year of secondary school.

Fundraising Goals


What You Can Do


What You Can DoWeb Actions

Help spread the word about Shine A Light and encouraging people to check out the website. Here’s how:

• Tweet about Shine A Light on Twitter

• Share one of our banners on your Facebook, Myspace, blog or regular web page • Embed our campaign video on your social networking sites • Post a video testimonial on our YouTube channel


What You Can DoOn Campus Actions

• Light is a powerful metaphor, and something we often take for granted. Organize a “blackout” or “lights out” event in your classroom or library to raise awareness.

• Loonie Mile: Have people donate a loonie (or two) by taping their coin down on top of a mini-track that extends one mile – until the track is covered.


What You Can DoFlashlight Mob!

One evening during the 2009 Uniterra Leadership Meeting in Ottawa, WUSC Local Committee members took Shine A Light to the streets of the ByWard Market, a busy downtown pedestrian area.


For 10 minutes, dozens of students sat in a busy walkway reading books by flashlight. The scattered pods of light created a surreal and intriguing distraction for walkers-by.



This extraordinary scene caused many to stop and ask “what is this all about?”

Shine A Light cards were passed around, which got many people talking.



Shine A Light – On The WEB

To stay completely up to date with progress made on the Shine A Light

Campaign, visit the website:

www.shinealight.ca


Available Resources

Find all of the following Shine A Light resources in our Supporter Toolkit at: http://www.shinealight.ca/toolkit.html

- Shine A Light banners- Shine A Light campaign video- Twitter post suggestions- Instructions on how to use all of the above


Sign Up!

Sign up to participate in the Shine A Light campaign by logging in to My Committee!

http://www.wusc.ca:8080/MyCommittee/


Thank You!

Shine A Light (ENG)

Education

Transcript of Shine A Light (ENG)