Medicine Hat News

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

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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 MarieClaud­e 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.

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