Lack of education is as serious as lack of food.    (Pope Paul VI)

Education benefits not only individuals but societies. And yet it is estimated that 75 million children and 774 million adults are currently missing out an education.

It is because of the importance of education, both in its quality and availability, that the Millennium Development Goals specifically address this issue. Millennium Development Goal 2 is for every primary school aged child (boys and girls) to be receiving a primary school education by 2015.

Fact 1: A single year of primary school increases the wages people earn later in life by 5-15% for boys and even more for girls.

Fact 2: A child born to a literate (able to read and write) mother is 50% more likely to survive past the age of five.

Fact 3: No country has ever achieved continuous and rapid economic growth without first having at least 40% of adults able to read and write.

Fact 4: The world is edging closer to universal primary education, but too slowly to meet the 2015 target. (Millennium Development Goal Report 2009)

Fact 5: Enrolment has increased by 15 percentage points in sub-Saharan Africa from 2000 to 2007. (Millennium Development Goal Report 2009)

Be More giving. Give the gift of education through Caritas’ Global Gift program

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