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09 MAR 2011
Talita Kum: Girl, Rise Up
In honor of the International Day of Women (March 8th) this post will deal with the world’s fledgling women: adolescent girls. UNICEF’s State of the World’s Children this year emphasizes the importance of supporting adolescent education as a means of eradicating poverty. Because the gender gap in secondary school is wider than it is for primary school, the report also focused on the problems facing adolescent girls in the developing world. One of the most shocking things I read in this report was that “on average more than 50 per cent of adolescent females aged 15–19 in the developing world (excluding China) consider that a husband is justified in hitting or beating his wife under certain circumstances, such as if she burns the food or refuses to have sex” (32-33). What shocks me most is that these are the responses of women, not men. That a woman could think she deserves such treatment—or rather, that so many women could think they deserve such treatment is truly dist... -
06 MAR 2011
Daily Sustenance
Something very exciting happened recently that I would like to share with you all: the Daily Show came to Mexico. In my frenzy of excitement, I binge-watched two weeks worth of episodes. While each one made me chuckle and cringe at America’s myriad fallacies, the most recent touched on a topic I think is often underrepresented when discussing education, which is, as Jon said, “the environment around the school.” In the episode he interviews Diane Ravitch (which you can see here: Diane Ravitch Interview ), an NYU professor with a new book out about America’s school system. Ms. Ravitch points out that “where we have intense poverty and racial isolation…you’ll find low test scores because kids are hungry, they’re homeless, they’re sick and not getting any medical care. Those things matter.” In high school I preferred to sleep in rather than do any sort of morning routine. I would get out of bed at 7:23, get dressed and leave the house at 7:30, without having breakfa... -
10 FEB 2011
Hello, Givology World!
My name is Margaret Lawlace and I'm a new intern at Givology. After having spent a year in college, I decided to see what else was out there in the world and left Philadelphia for Guanajuato, Mexico. The best thing I've found out here in the world is Buen Pastor, a convent dedicated to helping women and girls in need. I volunteer in Buen Pastor's "internado," which translates to boarding school, but really it’s more like a foster home. Around thirty girls, aged 3 to 18, stay there when school is in session. On the weekends most of them go home to family members, though they may not be going home to their mothers and fathers. Buen Pastor provides them with food, shelter, and, most importantly, an education. The nuns pay for uniforms tuition and make sure the girls go to school, have access to the internet and volunteers like me who help them do their homework. Buen Pastor has seen women go back to their abusers because they didn't have any other means of s...