Build a school

Imagine a poverty stricken village- the people hungry, uneducated, isolated and forgotten. Build a school there. Nothing fancy, just a few classrooms using the skills and materials the local people already use. The villagers take pride.

Relevant education

In the school you put teachers. Instead of teaching a national curriculum in a language the kids don't understand about irrelevant subjects that have no bearing on how much food they have in their stomachs, these teachers start with the basics, addressing the needs of the community, acting as social workers and educationalists. Over time the teachers demonstrate how the villagers can use the skills they already have to terrace their land, harvest water, grow more food, and take better care of themselves. The school soon becomes self-sustaining for food, water and energy. First the villagers managed to build a school for themselves, now they are transforming their community and that feels good; it's all been down to their hard work. We change class from being sitting-and-listening to getting-up-and-doing. We learn by the river from the river, in the forest through the forest. The children learn that it is them that is creating the environment to learn, not four walls, desks and a dictator and black board at the front.

Progress

One day the children aren't constantly hungry and now they can concentrate a little more in 'class'. Class times cease to have boundaries, and the children are driven to learn by their own interest, working together in collaborative ventures in exploration, design, discovering and performing. They can start learning a little about the world around them, celebrating their culture and enjoying their childhood. Over years they can, if they like, sit exams, do well and open new doors, but never forgetting where they came from and how life started out for them. The may find that the current status quo of what it means to be developed, where the world and his wife are all rushing, isn't necessarily the best way, and they might be able to shape their own future in a positive, holistic, caring way.

Growth

Maybe with time we could provide a little more sophisticated help, perhaps some basic health care. And once the villagers have seen what it takes to change life in their own village, they'll talk to their friends in the next village, who'll take note and soon enough they'll build a school and we'll provide some more teachers there?