Prepare yourself. If you haven’t yet seen the statistics below, you may be sickeningly surprised.
Money cannot solve all the world problems, but it sure will make things easier. Essentially, resources cost money, books and teachers cost money, and school buildings cost money. With appropriate funding for education we will come leaps closer to eliminating the cycle of poverty and uneducated generations of families in developing countries.
Keep in mind, it is estimated that in order to provide universal access to education in all developing countries, additional costs are $6 billion.
Yet, consider the global priorities in spending in 1998:
| Global Priority | $U.S. Billions |
|---|---|
| Cosmetics in the United States | 8 |
| Ice cream in Europe | 11 |
| Perfumes in Europe and the United States | 12 |
| Pet foods in Europe and the United States | 17 |
| Business entertainment in Japan | 35 |
| Cigarettes in Europe | 50 |
| Alcoholic drinks in Europe | 105 |
| Narcotics drugs in the world | 400 |
| Military spending in the world | 780 |
Can you believe these statistics? If someone asked you to give up ice cream to give everyone education, would you do it? What about giving up smoking? When I first heard of this data, it put into context how attainable education for all really is. I speculate that most people consider education for the entire world a write-off. It just can’t and won’t happen. Its as if society has become satisfied with 121 millions children not having education available to them- its just the “norm” right? Wrong.
