![CAFOD supported communities with seeds, tools and training to help local people move home and reintegrate in Northern Uganda [CAFOD]](/var/storage/images/about-cafod/where-we-work/uganda/images/move-home-and-reintegrate/945382-1-eng-GB/move-home-and-reintegrate_0column50_04space_landscape.jpg)
![Fatna (right) brings home wood that she and some neighbours have harvested from outside the camp in Kubum, south Darfur [Paul Jeffery/ACT/Caritas]](/var/storage/images/about-cafod/where-we-work/sudan/images/fatna-right-brings-home-wood/247664-2-eng-GB/fatna-right-brings-home-wood_0column50_04space_landscape.jpg)
![Monk Emm Oeun, 28, leads a ‘Happy Happy’ session for children who are affected by HIV and AIDS. The aim of the session is to bring the children together to have fun and forget about their worries [Annie Bungeroth]](/var/storage/images/opinion/salvation-centre-cambodia-scc-/966374-1-eng-GB/salvation-centre-cambodia-scc-_0column50_04space_landscape.jpg)
![Jade, 9yrs old, marking out 'Our Future' in coral on the beach at Pujada Bay [Simon Rawles]](/var/storage/images/watch-and-listen/our-future/966390-1-eng-GB/our-future_0column50_04space_landscape.jpg)
![CAFOD cakes – specially decorated and sold to raise money for CAFOD [CAFOD]](/var/storage/images/images/uk_diocesan_images/nottingham_diocese/cafod_cakes/10785-2-eng-GB/cafod_cakes_0column50_04space_landscape.jpg)
Education
![Severino Jovino de Lima learns literacy skills at makeshift classes held at his workplace [Marcella Haddad]](/var/storage/images/media_folder/cafod/images/international_images/latin_america_caribbean/brazil/construction_worker_at_night_school/5300-2-eng-GB/construction_worker_at_night_school_medium.jpg)
"Education for all" is an international ideal, but in some developing countries, education is a luxury
In rich countries, people have an average of ten years of schooling; in developing countries the average is four.
Education has many aspects.
- Reading, writing and arithmetic are an important foundation for people to understand their rights and improve their standard of living.
- Job-skills training: improvements in vocational training such as carpentry or tailoring can increase productivity and improve income.
- Personal development: developing people's potential, knowledge and attitudes improves their quality of life.
But in many countries, parents cannot afford the costs of schooling and, even if it is free, children are often needed to work to help the family income.
There is poor provision of school facilities in rural areas; poor transport and long distances to school make it more difficult to attend.
Refugees and people displaced within their own country by war or famine are unable to send their children to school.
Plus often fewer girls than boys attend school as, in some cultures, social traditions may not encourage education for girls.
![Agustin Jarquin Hernandez and his daughter Carmen [Marcella Haddad]](/var/storage/images/about-cafod/where-we-work/nicaragua/images/agustin-jarquin-hernandez-and-his-daughter-carmen/136747-2-eng-GB/agustin-jarquin-hernandez-and-his-daughter-carmen_1column00_08space_landscape.jpg) Education brings new confidence Far from Nicaragua’s capital of Managua, the people of Cerro Bonito have found new confidence and lobby their local mayor to make sure their needs are no longer neglected |
 Supporting orphans and vulnerable children The Diocese of Moshi based in the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania runs an Orphans and Vulnerable Children Support Programme. |
![Children at kurmuk primary school[Annie Bungeroth]](/var/storage/images/media_folder/cafod/images/international_images/africa/sudan/children_at_kurmuk_primary_school/165584-1-eng-GB/children_at_kurmuk_primary_school_1column00_08space_landscape.jpg) Lifted out of poverty by education As peace has slowly returned to Southern Sudan following the long civil war, so the number of children enrolling at the primary school in Kurmuk has continued to grow. |
![CAFOD's Hannah Redmond stands among thousands of messages sent to children at BASR school in Bethlehem [Roland Unwin]](/var/storage/images/get-involved/giving/images/hannah-with-advent-2008-hearts/984752-2-eng-GB/hannah-with-advent-2008-hearts_1column00_08space_landscape.jpg) Send a message to Palestine's children During the violent conflict in Gaza, thousands of messages were sent by CAFOD supporters to comfort children at a special school in nearby Bethlehem - please add yours today |
![Woman riding a bicycle in rural Cambodia [CAFOD]](/var/storage/images/about-cafod/where-we-work/cambodia/images/woman-on-bicycle/987612-1-eng-GB/woman-on-bicycle_1column00_08space_landscape.jpg)
A country of extremes - its natural beauty and world famous temples have led to a boom in tourism, but scratch below the surface and you find entrenched poverty |
![Phalla is a field worker for CAFOD partner Maryknoll in Cambodia and a foster parent to eight children [Annie Bungeroth]](/var/storage/images/about-cafod/what-we-do/hiv-and-aids/cambodia/phalla/982712-1-eng-GB/phalla_1column00_08space_landscape.jpg) Cambodia: Help starts from love Meet Phalla and her family, whose committment to helping children with no family and no home is helping to pioneer the way for others – with the support of CAFOD partner Maryknoll |
Make a donation online to support CAFOD's vital charity work fighting poverty overseas - your gift can make a difference to thousands of people |
 Get sponsored for CAFOD in 2009 Take part in one of the CAFOD Challenges, or join Team CAFOD for a run. You can have some fun while supporting our life-saving work across the world |
Please sign our petition calling on the world's largest mining company to listen to communities in the Philippines worried about the effect mining will have on their land |
