“To educate girls is to reduce poverty. Study after study has taught us that there is no tool for development more effective than the education of girls.”
— Kofi Annan, former U.N. Secretary General
An Economic Necessity Blocks Girls From School
Poverty impacts girls more than boys because it costs families more to educate a girl than a boy. In rural India and Tibet, simple economics and persistent gender bias combine to prevent girls from getting an education. Families rely much more heavily upon girls for household and childcare labor, so the loss of a girl’s time to schooling is often a price poor families cannot afford to pay. Giving infant care for younger siblings while parents work outside the home is an overwhelming reason girls are not in school.
A Safe Place for Preschoolers Means Education for Big Sisters
To address this problem we developed the cooperative nursery school program. With cooperative nursery schools in place, everyone benefits. Families have a safe, nurturing environment for their preschoolers, and their school-age daughters are free to take advantage of the educational opportunities available.
Vision Builders Local Partner: The Community
Like the Lhundrüp Topgyé Ling School, the nursery school was built and is run by village residents. With our assistance in gathering resources for construction, the villagers rallied and built the school structure in record time! Working with village elders, a plan for cooperative staffing was developed. A staff of community women rotates throughout the week, so the children are always cared for by adults. Everyone contributes some time, but they gain so much more.
One Girl’s Story…
Every day without complaint this young girl (pictured right) carries her little sister on her back to and from school. Big sister has done this childcare duty since the baby was an infant. At the time this photo was taken both girls were preschool students. Today, she has left behind the preschool and attends the primary school. If not for the care her baby sister receives at the preschool, this young girl very likely would not have been able to enroll. Her family’s need for infant care would have come first. Thanks to the preschool program, it’s not a choice they are forced to make. The baby has a safe, nurturing place to spend her days, allowing her big sister to join her peers in the primary school, and in the prospect of a better future.