Release embargoed until Friday 12 September
10 September 2008

With education children can rewrite their future

12 September 2008 is the second anniversary for Save the Children’s first-ever global campaign Rewrite the Future. This campaign was launched to provide education for the millions of children that are out of school in conflict-affected fragile states (CAFS).

Since 2006 there has been remarkable progress. Rewrite the Future has improved education for 5.7 million children living in CAFS including getting 815,000 of these children into school - that’s equivalent to opening two schools every day.

Globally Rewrite the Future has trained 25,000 teachers, rehabilitated nearly 800 schools damaged by conflict, constructed almost 1,000 classrooms and provided over 40,000 children with school materials.

Save the Children is also co-leading the Global Education Cluster ensuring that education continues even at the height of conflict.

This shows huge advancements but ongoing support is still urgently needed.

37 million children today are still spending their entire childhoods in the midst of conflict and are without access to education.

72 million of all children around the world are currently denied their right to education.

In 2000 Governments worldwide set themselves the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of universal primary education by 2015. This is simply not on target.

Only one-fifth of education aid is given to CAFS – even though they are home to half of the world’s children that are out of school.

Challenges facing children in CAFS means the Rewrite the Future goal of improving education for 8 million children and getting 3 million of these children into school by 2010 will not be reached unless more action is taken.

2009 marks the 20th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child – which includes the right to education for all children. This year is an opportunity for the New Zealand Government to take urgent action to meet the promises made in the MDG for education by:

• Increasing long-term predictable aid for education in CAFS
• Including education as part of humanitarian policy and response.

Anyone can make a difference to children’s lives by supporting education. For as little as $12 you can buy a school kit to help a child start school in Congo. For $20 you can give a class of children in Somalia a blackboard.

Help us help them. Make education possible for the world’s children.

For further information on Rewrite the Future please visit www.savethechildren.net/rewritethefuture
To directly support the campaign please visit www.savethechildren.org.nz or call 0800 167 168

Notes to the editor:
• Rewrite the Future – Two years on report is available. This is a short 8 page report which gives a great snapshot of the campaign over the past two years. It highlights programmatic and advocay achievements and highlights the need for more to be done.
• Two years on – Open your eyes DVD is available. This five minute video demonstrates the impressive impact Rewrite the Future has had and gives a face to the campaign by featuring two children’s lives that have been changed due to Save the Children’s work in the past two years.

ENDS

Save the Children works in more than 120 countries and has more than 85 years experience in working with the poorest communities. For more information on the work we do, visit our website.

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