Malala Yousafzai once said, One child, one teacher, one book, and one pen can change the world. Right now there is a growing problem of lack of education in developing countries. There are 33 million fewer girls than boys attending primary school alone. Globally there are 66 million girls not receiving an education at all. Those without an education are doomed to repeat the cycle of poverty.

        A girl, born into a poor family with little hope, struggling, not being educated, later she struggles to get a good job. She then fails to escape the cycle of poverty and thus it repeats. But it is not her fault. What can she do? when everyone around her has been living the same lives, repeating the same cycle, how is she expected to do more? She is denied the right to learn simply because of her gender. Does that seem fair to you? She is not just part of a creation, she is something so much more. She can move mountains, beat the war, and break the cycle.

       Let me tell you a myth about a boy locked up in a tall tower. This boy, Icarus, losing hope of ever escaping, desperate, tries everything he can think of. His father comes up with an idea to craft wings out of feathers secured with wax. He warned him, he said “Don’t fly too high for the sun might melt the wax.” But Icarus young, curious, and ignorant, ignored the advice and flew too high. The wax melted and he fell.

      This myth teaches us about limits, that we were not meant to fly. That we cannot fly higher with wings crafted from wax. We live in a world with restrictions, trapped. But what if we could change that, what if a girl’s life could mean more, what if we could live in a world with no boundaries, what if a boy could fly up to the sun without falling down?  We are only confined by the walls we build ourselves. We can shape the lives we want to live as long as we believe we can. Don’t wait for luck. In a heartbeat we can change our dreams into reality. She can change her life to mean something more, she can be educated. 

      Once she steps out of the cycle she is able to turn her eyes towards new possibilities. She can lead a new life, lift a nation out of absolute poverty. According to girls rising.org, Educated mothers are more than twice as likely to send their children to school, which interrupts the poverty cycle and starts a new one. An educated cycle.

Imagine a world where girls and boys can both go to school and build a better life for themselves. Imagine a world where girls are not denied an education but encouraged to do so. Imagine a world where everyone is equal.

     We all need to come together as a team and fight for a common goal. There are times when we need to help others to be able to help ourselves. Understanding their points brings a sense of unity. You cannot spell community without unity. It is our duty as privileged people to address this problem and come together  those in need. We need to focus not just on the AIS-R community, but the larger community.Together You, Me and the Community can fight for everyone’s right to education.

      Think of education as a way to escape the world of ignorance and poverty. Once being taught something it cannot be untaught. Alone we can accomplish great things. Together we can change the world.