The Right to Education and Life-Long Learning

As a network of older women advocating for the human rights of African grandmothers, we have always been guided by the African philosophy of ubuntu. Ubuntu defines what it means to be truly human: we affirm our own humanity when we acknowledge the full humanity of others. The ubuntu principles of dignity, respect, empathy, caring, sharing, and compassion are more needed than ever in these unprecedented times.

The federal Liberal Party made a commitment in its 2019 election platform to “…continu[e] to increase Canada’s international development assistance every year towards 2030, reflecting our commitment to realizing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.”

In the Fall of 2020, the world is rightly focused on the COVID-19 pandemic. Governments around the world are scrambling to deal with the health emergency and its economic repercussions. Developing countries have been especially hard hit.

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is one of the places in the world where the impact of the climate crisis is being felt most profoundly. Twelve countries in the region have been identified where widespread hunger is already evident. The current situation is the result of prolonged drought combined with conflict and instability in some countries, and economic collapse in others. In recent years the seasonal rains are either shorter or absent, and in some places, when the rains do come, they have been so violent that flooding washes away the newly planted crops. 

The Global Partnership for Education (GPE), set up in 2002, to “galvanize and coordinate a global effort to deliver a good quality education to all girls and boys, prioritizing the poorest and most vulnerable.” www.globalpartnership.org/about-us  The GPE includes sixty developing countries, donor governments, such as Canada, international organizations, civil society groups, and the private sector.