Save this page | Close this page | Word list
Spotlight Script Title: Educate Every Child We cannot waste our
precious children. Not another
one. Not another day. Thank you for listening
to Spotlight, I’m David Bast. And I’m Sara
DeKoster. Spotlight uses a special
English method of broadcasting. It
is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they
live. Today’s Spotlight is on
children! The quote you heard at
the start of this program was from Nelson Mandela and Graca Machel. They are the leaders of a group called
the Global Movement for Children.
These are the ten main values of the Global Movement for
Children. Leave No Children Out,
Put Children First, Care For Every Child, Fight HIV/AIDS, Stop Harming and
Exploiting Children, Listen To Children, Educate Every Child, Protect Children
From War, Protect The Earth For Children, Fight Poverty: Invest In
Children. The Global Movement for
Children, or the G-M-F-C, is a large group. It is made up of many smaller
groups. All of these groups want to
make life better for children all over the world. The G-M-F-C helps all of these people
come together. The G-M-F-C believes
that all people are responsible for protecting children. Governments, schools, churches, families
and every person have work to do.
The G-M-F-C believes that its ten values help children live better
lives. On Spotlight, we want to
talk about those ten values. This is the seventh
program in the series on the ten values of the G-M-F-C. The last value was Listen to
Children. Today’s value is Educate
Every Child. Sarada is ten years
old. She lives in the Indian
fishing village in Andhra Pradesh.
Andhra Pradesh is a very poor community. Sarada and her family do not have enough
money to live. Her parents are
considered too old to work. Her
brother has his own family to provide for.
And her sister married a man and moved away. There has been a
draught, or lack of water, in her village.
This has left many families with no food or water. Her parents are in debt because they
cannot work. All of these things mean
that Sarada has to help her parents.
She works to help her parents earn money. And she cannot go to
school. Sarada is not the only
child living in these conditions.
Andhra Pradesh has the highest poverty rate in all of India. Over twenty percent of the people there
do not have enough money to live.
So many children like Sarada have to work to help their families. And about eighty percent of the children
in Andhra Pradesh cannot read or write. The G-M-F-C works with a
group called NetAid. NetAid
believes that the most important way to give children a better life is to
educate them. They are working to
make sure children like Sarada can go to school. There are many children like Sarada in
the world. In fact, there are about
one hundred twenty five million children in the world who do not go to
school. The G-M-F-C believes
that this is wrong. All children
have the right to an education. It
does not matter where they live. It
does not matter how much money they have.
It does not matter what color their skin is, or if they are girls or
boys. All children deserve an
education. And all children
want an education. Children are born with
the desire to learn. Have you ever
noticed how many questions children ask?
They are excited to learn things about the world. But too many of them are not getting the
chance. There are many reasons
why so many children are not going to school. Many children are like Sarada. They have to work to earn money. They do not have time to go to
school. Some children live too far
away from school. They cannot
travel the long distance. Many
towns and villages are too poor to have a school. They have no money to pay teachers and
buy books. Many girls are not
allowed to go to school. Their
parents or their culture tell them that they belong at home. The GMFC is trying to
help solve these problems in the world so that children can go to school. They work with other groups to train
teachers. They raise money for
school supplies and buildings. They
try to help get children to school when they live far away. They try to teach parents and adults
that all children deserve to go to school. Studies show that better
education means better life.
Children who get an education can get better jobs. They can provide for their
families. They can make sure that
other children have an education too.
Also, educated children do not get involved in as much crime. This is because they know more about
right and wrong. They get better
jobs that make more money. And they
do not have to steal or cheat to get the things they need. And, children in school stay
healthy. They learn how to
take care of their bodies. They
learn how to prevent diseases like HIV and AIDS. The G-M-F-C believes
that all children have the right to an education. But it also believes that education is a
child’s responsibility. It may be
the most important responsibility that a child can have. Education is a gift. Children need to use their education
wisely. They need to learn all that
they can in school. They need to
work very hard. Children need to
make sure they do not waste their education. Adults have a
responsibility to offer all children an education. And children have a responsibility to
use that education...and to be thankful for it. The G-M-F-C is
hopeful. In the last ten years, the
number of children in school has gone up.
But there is still a lot of work to do. All people need to work together. What can you do today to educate every
child? This program was written
by Sara DeKoster. The voices you
heard were from the United States.
Computer users can hear these programs, read our scripts and see our
wordbook on our website at www.radio.english.net. This program is called 'Educate Every
Child.' We love to hear comments
and questions from our listeners.
If you have a question about this series of programs, you can email
us! Our address is radio@english.net We hope
you can join us for our next program in this special Spotlight series on
children! Good-bye! Save this page | Close this page | Word list
Website: http://www.specialized.english.net/home.htm
Radio programs in
'Specialized English'
(Program number: 663)