Africa's Hunger

 I have seen pictures of children starving in Africa probably my whole life, the empty large stomachs of children whose eyes plead for substance. Starving children around the world has always touched my heart.  And yet, the problem has not gone away decades later.  According to the African Union Education Outlook Report there are a 130 million children in Africa and most do not have access to Early Childhood care or education.The deprivations: poverty, food insecurity,stunting, malnutrition, health risks, violence and war all take their toll on these children.  If a hungry child went to school, how would they concentrate, their minds would be on food. Many of the children who do go to school are doing poorly, and fail to acquire numeracy and literacy skills.  They think it may be a possible consequence of lack of early education. In America we know the importance of nutritious meals, and the importance of building a foundation in early childhood. The Africans have also realized early childhood education benefits, but they are slow to make it happen. They are having discussions on how to achieve this worthy goal,although, HIV, Malaria, and Malnutrition will have to be addressed too.I realize how blessed we are in America and it makes me thankful.  The fact that we are educating our children, feeding them, monitoring their health encourages me to believe that we should never take it for granted.  For each opportunity that I have to contribute to early childhood education I will be thankful.