EDUCATION/THOUGHTS CAN CHANGE THE WORLD

Education is a core ingredient in helping us reach our full potential and become contributors to society. Yet, in in the past few years in 70 countries, girls have been violently attacked or killed for trying to get an education. (United Nations)

The simple act of educating girls has been under attack for years. And not just in Nigeria. The kidnapping of nearly 300 Nigerian schoolgirls last year by Islamist militants has highlighted the troubling reality for young females daring to learn. And as Western nations pledge to help find Nigeria’s “lost girls,” their plight is raising awareness that in several countries, young girls’ education is in peril, (report from the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack.)

“In my travels, I’ve found that many families want to send their daughters to the classroom,” said Lisa Bender, an education specialist at UNICEF. “But they want to feel safe doing that.” Countries where girls’ education is threatened share similar threads of violence, poverty and cultural oppression. Here are five countries where girls are fighting to overcome that: Pakistan Now 16, Malala Yousafzai was nearly killed when a Taliban gunman shot her after she boarded a school bus in 2009. Despite the worldwide outcry — and Pakistani leaders pledging to support the right to an education — girls and their female teachers in the country continue to be targets of violence. (CBS)

LEAD ARTIST: Sanan Westeyn, Aimee Boothe PARTICIPANTS: Charlotte Seefeldt, McKenzie, Marguarite DiLeo, Gezelle, Damon, Diane Dougherty

FUNDERS/SUPPORTERS: Charlotte Seefeldt, One Billion Rising Atlanta, East Lake Commons,

NOTES: Charlotte Seefeldt, One Billion Rising volunteer, brought her High School exchange student Sanan from Norway and her 8 year old daughter who was an excellent artist. Charlotte wrote a beautiful history of their intergenerational experience. Her 8 year old daughter put “I am thinking” in her handprint and then asked to meet Bernice King. She truly exemplified a wise soul in a young body.