I cannot imagine the sadness I would feel watching my child grow up without the chance to go to school, learn to read and write, or have opportunities to achieve her potential.
And yet, here in my native Rwanda, each time I meet an out-of-school child, I feel a measure of that sadness. Lack of access to basic, quality primary education is one of the root causes of extreme poverty, and disproportionately affects girls: the majority of the world's 72 million out-of-school children are girls.
In Rwanda, the gender gap in primary education reached its goal of zero in 2005 and the gender gap in literacy is close to zero. For a nation that is among the 16 poorest in the world, that is no small achievement. The Rwandan government has also recently introduced an initiative to provide free basic education to children for a period of nine years. However, poverty still keeps many children from attending school.
Two girls I met in 2009 are living proof of this fact. Rachael, who is 12 years old, and Sarah, who is eight years old, both dropped out of school soon after enrolling. As part of my role as Education Liaison Officer for Concern Worldwide, I help set up and train community parent-teacher committees (PTCs) to identify children such as Rachel and Sarah, who have dropped out of school. PTC members make home visits to encourage them to resume classes and also engage their parents in discussions, and organize meetings at village level to discuss the importance of primary education. But that is not all: Concern also works with schools to set up children's committees, which give children a voice and ensure that they share input and influence decisions on the issues that affect them in their schools.
Last April, I accompanied parent-teacher committee members on a visit to Rachael and Sarah's home in the remote village of Amarongi, in the southern province. When we arrived, we found the two sisters busy working -- doing household chores. They told us that they did not attend school because they had no notebooks, pencils or clean clothes. Lack of these basic supplies is often a barrier to attendance for the poorest children.
Since that visit, members of the parent-teacher committee have worked closely with Rachael and Sarah's mother to show her the value of education in her daughters' lives. Through the Concern-supported program, the PTC members were also able to raise money to provide books and uniforms to the girls.
This week, I went back to the Rwaniro primary school. After almost a year, I saw Sarah and Rachael again. This time, they were not working: they were in a classroom studying, wearing their new uniforms and bright smiles.
The words of their mother, Barakagwira Bonifrida, gave me faith in the impact of the program and in the hope of a future full of promise for the girls: "Now I am sure that my children will reach secondary school. If nobody had helped me, I think my daughters would have regretted all their lives that they did not go to school. "
Improved communication and collaboration at local level between parents and teachers, including home visits, is at the core of Concern's education program in Rwanda. Parent-teacher committees include more than just parents: they involve local authorities -- and children themselves -- to improve schools and increase enrollment and retention. In 2008, Concern reached 38,841 children and 493 teachers; we are now working with 73 schools in Rwanda's poorest communities. And our efforts to scale up parent-teacher committees are gaining momentum: they are now set to be adopted at the national level by the Ministry of Education.