More than 90 Million Children are not in School --

They need your Help!

Here in Afghanistan we are helping about 15,000 children attend school for the first time. Sadly, there are over 90 million boys and girls around the world who should be in elementary school; but, they are not. Most of these kids are poor, living on less than $2 each day. Not surprisingly, the majority are girls and AIDS orphans.

School is important for all kids. It teaches life skills, like what foods are best to eat and how to stay healthy. Education also teaches civic responsibilities (like voting), how the government works, and leadership skills. Further, it leads to better-paying jobs, which provide food and clothing for families. Without educated citizens, a country will never be able to pull itself out of poverty and will often suffer from civil unrest.

Most poor countries around the world don’t have free school, like we do in the United States. They have to pay school fees. These school fees may be as little as $50 per year, but it is more than most families can pay, since they are barely making it each day. As you can imagine, the kids who are not in school are very sad. They have little hope or opportunity for the future.

Our U.S. Government is now encouraging poor countries to drop school fees, so poor boys and girls can get an education, and they can escape from the worst of poverty. You can help these boys and girls.

Please send a letter to Congressman Jim McDermott and Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell. Tell them about the importance of educating kids and ask them to work with our government to end school fees in the developing world. Also ask them to work on this soon!

Rep. Jim McDermott

1809 7th Avenue, Suite 1212

Seattle, WA 98101-1399

Senator Patty Murray Senator Maria Cantwell

3206 Jackson Federal Building 2988 Jackson Federal Building

915 Second Avenue 915 Second Avenue

Seattle, WA 98174 Seattle, WA 98174