Proud of Canada’s commitment to funding education for girls in crisis

By Letter to the Editor on January 14, 2019.

While the general feeling among Canadian seems to be that 2018 was a write-off, it’s important to remember there were some very important successes last year, especially for the world’s worse off. While the topics of immigration and refugees often flared as an ugly and divisive topic, it’s important to recall that the vast majority of refugees spend their lives in permanent camps.

It’s hard to imagine a more desperate and impoverished life, yet in 2018, G7 countries, the World Bank, and the European Union committed $3.8 billion to reduce barriers and improve access to quality education for the women and girls in conflict and crisis situations. Of this, Canadians can be proud of our commitment of $400 million.

Education means that refugees and the displaced have at least a chance for bettering their lives when situations improve in their home countries. Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau (Minister of International Development and La Francophonie) deserves credit for supporting a future for these individuals, as educating girls is the best, most sustainable investment there is in global peace, stability, and prosperity.

Francis Beckow

Victoria, B.C.