Work of an NGO (ActionAid) - 40 years of fighting poverty handout

40 years of fighting poverty:a short history of ActionAid’s education work

ActionAid is a registered charity no.274467. Part of ‘The Work of an NGO’ resource | ActionAid schools | April 2012 | 1

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ActionAid in the1970’s

Founded in 1972, ActionAid has been fighting poverty worldwide for 40 years. Originally known as ‘Action in Distress’, the charity was set up to give children in India and Kenya the chance to go to school.

People in the UK began to

support our work by ‘sponsoring

a child’. Money from child

sponsorship was spent on school

uniforms, fees and equipment.

Child sponsorship became very

successful because it created a

strong link between people

in different countries. The UK

sponsors received drawings or

letters from the children and were

able to see the difference they

were making to their lives.

Part of ‘The Work of an NGO’ resource | ActionAid schools | April 2012 | 2

PHOTO: GEORGIE SCOTT/ACTIONAID

PHOTO: GEORGIE SCOTT/ACTIONAID PHOTO: DES WILLIE/ACTIONAID

As the 70’s went on we wanted

to expand our work so that it would

benefit whole communities

rather than just individual children.

By supporting the ramshackle schools

where sponsored children lived we

began to help their brothers, sisters

sand neighbours to go to school.

Money was spent on building low cost classrooms using local materials. Enthusiastic parents pitched in to help build the schools. (We also supplied physical essentials to the communities like seeds, farming equipment and water pumps.)

UK sponsors were happy because they could see concrete evidence of the changes they were helping to make.

ActionAid in the1970’s continued


PHOTO: PIERS BENATAR/PANOS PICTURES/ACTIONAID

By the 1980s our work had expanded across three continents. We worked with communities to boost agricultural production, improve water supplies and set up small businesses.

However, despite our tireless

efforts, there were still millions

of children out of school in

countries like Kenya. The reasons

for this were a complex mix of

global, national and local factors:

Governments of developing

countries were being asked by

global lenders like the World Bank

to reduce their spending

on education.

This meant that even tiny local

schools were being encouraged

to charge ‘user fees’ by national

governments.

Many families had no cash

income and often needed their

children’s help at home or

in the fields to survive. Their

children had no choice but to

drop out of school.




PHOTO: LIBA TAYLOR/ACTIONAID

PHOTO: GISELE WULFSOHN/PANOS PICTURES/ACTIONAID

Parents were involved in

running the centres and setting

the timetables. This meant that

children could learn

in the morning, afternoon

or evening and could still

help out their families in the

fields or at home.

The centres were very popular

with parents and children.

Learning was stimulating, fun

and focused on the core skills

of reading, writing and

numeracy. The centres were

replicated across many countries.

ActionAid began to work with local communities to create non formal education centres to help the poorest children in the most remote areas go to school. The centres were free and were run completely independently from governments.

ActionAid in the1980’s continued


PHOTO: GEORGIE SCOTT/ACTIONAID PHOTO: ACTIONAID

PHOTO: NICOLAS AXELROD/ACTIONAID

PHOTO: CAMERON MCNEE/MISSION MALAWI/ACTIONAID

However, children attending ActionAid’s non-formal education centres found it difficult to get into secondary school because their learning was not recognised by government schools. So we started to work with governments to provide integrated, quality education.

The cost of going to school

was still the main obstacle

for most children from poor

families. Governments in

countries like Burundi, Ghana and

Uganda continued to encourage

even the most basic primary

schools to charge ‘user fees’.


ActionAid started working with

parents, community groups and

local leaders in many countries

to call for an end to school

user fees. By meeting together

and discussing the reasons why

children were not in school, these

groups were able to come up with

their own solutions.

For example, parents joined school

committees and began to play an active

role in the running of their schools and

how the money was spent. Local groups

connected across countries and national

campaigns grew.

This ‘people power’ helped abolish

user fees in many countries such as

Burundi, Ghana, Malawi, Tanzania and

Uganda.


PHOTO: JANE HAHN/PANOS PICTURES/ACTIONAID

From small beginnings ActionAid has grown into an international organisation working with millions of people in over 40 countries, fighting for and defending their human rights.

Today parents living in poverty still have

to pay a whole host of hidden costs for

their children’s education. Uniforms,

books and equipment are common costs

but some schools even charge pupils to

go to the toilet or to drink water!

Today we go beyond meeting people’s

immediate educational needs, like

classrooms and learning materials,

to focus on supporting families

to demand a free, government

education as their human right.

We think and act

globally as well as

locally to address the

root causes of poverty.

ActionAid today


PHOTO: CAMERON MCNEE/MISSION MALAWI/ACTIONAID

PHOTO: BRIAN SOKOL/ACTIONAID

PHOTO: VASILIKI MARKOLEFA/ACTIONAID

Our vision is: “a world without poverty and injustice in which every person enjoys their right to a life of dignity”

Our mission is: “to work with poor and excluded people to eradicate poverty and injustice”

Are we thinking and acting globally as well as locally?

Our work on the ground is driven by the following questions:

ActionAid today continued

Who has the power to change this?

Whose human rights are being denied?

Are we meeting people’s basic needs?

How will our actions benefit women and children?

How will people meet and analyse their situation?

Is there anyone who could support us locally, nationally or globally?



Education

Work of an NGO (ActionAid) - 40 years of fighting poverty handout