CARE
As a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty for more than 65 years, CARE knows that basic education is fundamental to development. No country has reached sustained economic growth without achieving near universal primary education.
Women and girls are at the heart of CARE’s community-based efforts to improve basic education - coinciding with this year’s GCE-US theme of women and girls’ education. Experience shows that equipped with the proper resources, women have the power to help whole families and entire communities escape poverty.
Basic education programming has been a central part of CARE’s work since the mid-1990s. CARE currently operates education programs in 36 countries, where we work alongside communities, governments and partner organizations at many levels to address all aspects of basic education. Most recently, CARE launched a signature initiative called “Power Within” focused on enabling 10 million girls around the world to complete their primary education and develop leadership skills.
CARE is an active and engaged member of the GCE-US coalition. CARE highlighted GCE-US at their annual Conference in March, where GCE-US Director Joanna Kuebler spoke to more than 100 CARE advocates as part of a legislative advocacy training workshop. CARE is also organizing grassroots support for Global Action Week events around the country.
CARE is committed to policy advocacy and supports the Education for All Act, which would ensure that the U.S. provides resources and leadership to support a successful international effort to help all children achieve a quality basic education. At CARE’s recent annual Conference and International Women’s Day Celebration, more than 1,100 CARE supporters from around the country stormed Capitol Hill to encourage their Members of Congress to support and co-sponsor the Education for All Act when it is reintroduced this year.
CARE’s President and CEO Dr. Helene D. Gayle spoke on behalf of the power of basic education recently, saying: “Every girl can become a force for change. To unlock her potential, she must have the opportunity to go to school and build the skills and confidence needed to meet life’s challenges head on.”
For more information on CARE’s work around education, visit http://www.care.org/campaigns/powerwithin/index.asp.