#TOGETHERFOR10MILLION

RISE International joined Educate A Child, a program of Education Above All, and other partners in New York City on April 27-28 to celebrate the achievement of securing commitments to provide education to 10 million out of school children around the world. Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, UN SDG advocate and Founder & Chairperson of Education Above All (EAA) Foundation promised in 2012 to reach out to 10 million of the world’s most marginalized children, as part of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 4 which aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.”

RISE is an implementing partner with Educate A Child (EAC),  and will construct approximately 25 new schools and enroll 24,000 out of school children (OOSC) by 2020 in the provinces of Benguela, Bié and Luanda. This is made possible through co-funding from EAC, ExxonMobil and RISE donors. Education Above All and RISE have common goals in providing school infrastructure to children who have been impacted by war and its aftermath, poverty, disease and a lack of basic social services.

The NYC event was attended by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, UN Secretary General António Guterres and leaders from the United Nations, UNICEF, NGOs, and global industry, including President of Ghana and model philanthropist Naomi Campbell, to celebrate this important milestone. Executive Director Lynn Cole, Board President Dan Paustian, and Monitoring & Evaluation Coordinator Rachel Cole were privileged to participate in both celebratory events and partner meetings.

Speaking on the power of education at the event, United Nations Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr. Antonio Guterres, said: “Our dream of a sustainable future cannot be realized if we do not support children’s dreams to gain an education. When we educate a child we give her more than books, papers, pencils or a calculator. We give her the tools, skills and imagination she needs to shape the world around her and to make her community, and her society, better, more prosperous and more peaceful.”

RISE International’s Executive Director, Lynn Cole, shared: “It was powerful to be part of an event like this, with global leaders, individuals and organizations committed to the goal of giving all children access to education. We are in this crucial phase of fundraising to ensure that 24,000 more OOSC in Angola are able to attend school, and I am incredibly grateful for our generous supporters, invested in being part of this larger vision to give kids in Angola and around the world, the primary education they deserve.”