How Can Education Break the Cycle of Poverty?

Education is key to breaking the cycle of poverty, and organizations like GFA World are focusing on that strategy for poverty alleviation. For every year a child stays in school, her or his chances of sinking deeper into poverty decrease by 9 percent.[1] So, how can education break the cycle of poverty?

No country has ever achieved continuous and rapid economic growth without first reaching a minimum literacy rate of 40%.[2] GFA has taken this to heart and is offering literacy classes to men, women and children. People who read are instantly qualified for higher-paying jobs. They can also understand warning labels and street signs, help their children with homework and are more likely to send their kids to school. People who know how to read, write and do basic math are also less likely to be taken advantage of in the marketplace.

For many people living in areas of extreme poverty, education is a luxury they cannot afford. That is why our child sponsorship program emphasizes education. Children in the program are provided with things like tuition and school supplies, as well as access to clean water, hygiene items, basic healthcare and more. They are also given support and encouragement in their studies and nutritious food to keep their bodies and minds strong and growing. When children have trustworthy adults looking after them and cheering them on, they are more likely to succeed in life.

Bruce Wydick’s research study on child sponsorship discovered that sponsorship really works! Sponsorship models made large, significant impacts on number of years of schooling and the quality of later employment.[3] For example, 27 to 40 percent of formerly sponsored children were more likely to finish secondary school than those not enrolled in a child sponsorship program. Of formerly sponsored children, 50 to 80 percent were more likely to complete a university education than non-sponsored children.[4]


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