海外ボランティア募集！大学生・高校生・社会人にオススメ。春休み夏休みも通年開催。

Education is a tool that allows us to gain knowledge, a help to choose a job, and a shield that protects ourselves. However, according to UNICEF, one out of every 12 children in the world does not have access to education. Education changes people's lives. What can we do to ensure that all children have access to education? I would like to use the example of Cambodia, where I was involved as an online volunteer.
There is a sad history of genocide of Cambodian people in 1975-1979 due to radical communization by the Khmer Rouge. This led to the loss of many intellectuals. During those four years, the abolition of traditional social organizations and institutions prevented people from getting education, and it was not satisfactory after that. Although it is becoming more available now, the low quality and the low enrollment rates are still problems.
For each of them, I believe there are the following causes: a shortage of teachers resulting in low quality education and child labor. In one Cambodian school, one teacher teaches more than 50 students. One of the reasons has to do with the difficulty of living as a teacher. Some teachers teach in the mornings and work part-time in the afternoons, as they cannot earn enough money to live solely as school teachers. This situation sometimes makes it difficult for them to continue teaching. In addition, many students who aspire to become teachers also work part-time due to financial problems, and in some cases they become teachers without being able to study enough, which is one of the reasons why education is still not sufficient in Cambodia.
The reason for child labor is a lack of recognition among family members of the importance of education, and the most important reason is “poverty."
In Cambodia, about 37% of children work for their families, and children are an important labor force, especially in rural areas. Even if they want to study, they are not satisfied with their studies. Many children gradually lose the ability to keep up with their classes or have to quit school due to work. “Poverty" is not just a problem for children. As mentioned above, it also hinders the improvement of the quality of teachers. It prevents children from receiving a satisfactory education, which in turn prevents the number of talented people in Cambodia from increasing, and prevents the next generation of children from receiving quality education. Poverty is expanding the negative loop.
I see the following ways to solve this problem.
The first is to inform as many people as possible about this situation. I want everyone to know what poverty is leading to. It is important to increase the number of people who want to solve this problem. At my school, I am a member of the SDGs volunteer group. I conduct various activities such as making posters and cleaning beaches to achieve the SDG goals. These kinds of activities should be implemented in all schools. In addition to activities at schools, we can now connect with the whole world through SNS. Disseminating information through SNS will lead not only us but also other people to understand the SDGs and think about ways to solve the problems.
The second is to participate in volunteer activities. By volunteering, you can directly feel the local situation. Especially nowadays, it is possible to interact with people overseas through online volunteer activities. Online is a great tool that has made it possible and easier to volunteer overseas, even if the coronavirus prevents you from going abroad. In fact, without the pandemic, I might not have had the opportunity to interact with the children of Cambodia. This ease of use has given more people the opportunity to learn about the current situation in various regions and to feel closer to the problems. In particular, the learning support volunteers will be able to help the local children learn in no small way.
The third is to raise money or make donations. There is a limit to what an individual can do, so by donating money to NGOs and NPOs to set up schools and provide nutritious food, or by donating used pencils, notebooks, clothes, etc. to them, we can help them learn and live.
The reason why they are still poor in many countries is because of our indifference. “Know about SDGs and take action.” Only when everyone is able to do this will we be one step closer to creating a sustainable society.