Empowering Through Education by Ashlyn

Empowering Through Education by Ashlyn - May 2018 Scholarship Essay

In Africa, children have to pay a generous fine in order to attend any kind of school, including public. Here in America, we are lucky enough to go to school for free. Due to this unfortunate circumstance in Africa, many go uneducated. Some may wonder, "Why does it matter if they are not taught Western education? They are educated by means of their culture and they have their own advanced civilization to learn the ways of." This is a very good question, and the logic behind it is understandable. However, western education is expanding through the world. In order to make relations, there has to be a common knowledge there, which brings the saying,"knowledge is power." Providing education to the peoples of Africa is vital to making connections between countries, and it could bring advancements to their societies, if they were needed. There are many fundraisers that collect funds for children to go to school. When I was 14, I raised $750 for a family of three girls to go to school. This was the first financial donation the organization called 100 Humanitarians received. I worked everyday for six months to raise those funds. I went door to door in every neighborhood I could selling pizza coupons. I finally raised $750, and I did not realize what the impact would be. After a month or two since I gave the money to the organization, a member sat me down and showed me pictures of the family I helped. They were all in their school uniforms, beaming with delight. The member also gave me a necklace they had made to express how grateful they were. It wasn't until then I realized how lucky and privileged we are. This experience made me appreciate hard work, education, and helping others. Seeing how happy I made that family changed the way I saw the world, and since then I have been a lot more active and happier in volunteer work. My mother and I regularly donate fabric to Days for Girls, and volunteer when we can, trying to create the same effect of happiness for other people.