What Is the Link Between Education and Poverty Reduction?
Overwhelming evidence links education and poverty reduction.[1] When people are born into poverty, they often raise their children without education. Sometimes they can’t afford to send their kids to school or don’t see the benefit of education. Likewise, when a person doesn’t get an education, poverty is often the result. For that reason, education is a major key to ending the cycle of poverty, but unfortunately, poverty is still the largest obstacle to getting an education. When people learn to read and write, the cycle of poverty begins to crumble. Even if poverty has plagued a family for generations, education can be the outside influence that breaks into that cycle.
In a special report for GFA World, Karen Burton Mains observes that “entire villages with increasing levels of literacy are making social and economic gains when even just a small percentage of the villagers learn to read and write.” She concludes that the vast amount of data on the subject gives “good cause to make the assumption that learning to read and write is one of the ‘great miracle cures.'”[2]
The truth of this observation is evident in the life of Dayita,[3] a mother of four in Asia.
With her husband gravely ill, she became the family’s sole breadwinner—yet her inability to read and write made survival even harder. Forced into day labor, she gathered firewood from nearby forests. The work was physically tasking and didn’t furnish much income for her family. Her children roamed the village, unable to go to school because of lack of funds. Her eldest, a 7-year-old named Kasni, was tasked with taking care her siblings while her mother worked.
One day, a staff member from our child sponsorship program met with Dayita and her kids. When they saw what the family was going through, they offered Kasni the opportunity to go to school. That day, the cycle of poverty began to break. The daughter began to learn skills that will help her escape poverty. She also received nutritious food each day, which helped alleviate financial stress from her parents. Special programs helped her parents and siblings too!
When education enters the equation, the cycle of poverty begins to break! When a child goes to school, they gain skills and become qualified for numerous job opportunities. It may be just what the family needs to break out of the poverty cycle. You can help provide education to a child in need through our child sponsorship program.
Learn more about our poverty reduction strategy at GFA World[1] Burton Mains, Karen. “Literacy: One of the great miracle cures.” GFA World. September 3, 2019. https://www.gfa.org/special-report/literacy-miracle-cure-illiteracy.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Psarris, Emily. “Fighting Global Poverty with Ideas.” GFA World, October 14, 2020. https://www.gfa.org/special-report/solutions-extreme-poverty-line-poor-impoverished/#:~:text=Dayita%20is%20a%20mother%20in%20Asia%20living%20with%20four%20children.