Opportunity: Campaign seeks Young Ambassadors for education mission to Kenya

The search is on for two teenagers to become the Young Ambassadors for the 2016 Send My Friend to School Campaign.

The winners will visit Kenya on a fact-finding mission with Deaf Child Worldwide and the Global Campaign for Education UK to discover some of the barriers still denying millions of children their right to a quality education.

The national competition launched today, by the Send My Friend to School campaign, is seeking to recruit a passionate young duo to travel to Kenya and specifically investigate the problems deaf children face in accessing and succeeding in education.

The two Year 10 pupils will visit projects run by Deaf Child Worldwide (the global arm of the National Deaf Children’s Society) and meet deaf children, teachers, government officials and charity workers in urban and rural parts of the country. They will explore what support is needed to ensure deaf children can achieve in line with their hearing classmates.

In Kenya, most deaf children have no technological support, such as hearing aids. Those who do go to school are often in classes with up to 50 pupils, where the majority of their teachers have never received any deaf awareness training, making learning next to impossible. Leaving school with no education or communication skills often commits them to a life of poverty.

Following the trip the winners will share their first-hand experience to help drive the Send My Friend to School campaign, which aims to highlight the challenges of accessing education in some of the world’s most marginalised communities.

The Young Ambassadors will help to inspire millions of other young people around the UK to speak out for the right of all children everywhere to receive a quality education. They will be given the opportunity to support the campaign by spreading the word via the media, speaking at events and to politicians.

Nicola Cadbury, Education Campaigns Manager at Send My Friend to School said:

“We are now looking for two exceptional young people who have the commitment to help us drive the campaign throughout 2016. Of the 59 million children still missing out on education it is girls, children in conflict areas and children with disabilities that are missing out most. Over a third of all children missing out on education have a disability. This award is a fantastic opportunity for two young people determined to make a difference. The trip to Kenya will help shed some light specifically on the challenges that deaf children face in accessing and completing school. “

Joanna Clark, Director of Deaf Child Worldwide said:

“Access to schooling in Kenya has improved significantly in the last ten years but more needs to be done to reach the most marginalised. Deaf children are not getting the support they need and continue to fall behind their hearing peers, despite the fact that deafness is not a learning disability.

“We know that, given the right support, deaf children can succeed and we’re delighted to be recruiting two new ‘Young Ambassadors’ who will help us achieve our vision of a world without barriers for every deaf child.”

Applicants will be expected to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of campaign work, be outstanding communicators and be committed to seeing a world where all children have access to quality education.

This competition, ‘The Steve Sinnott Award’ was set up following the tragic and sudden death of Steve Sinnott in 2008. Mr Sinnott was the General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and a passionate advocate of Education for All. The award is now funded by GCE UK and NUT.

Do you know of any young people that have got what it takes to be Young Ambassadors for the Send My Friend to School campaign 2016? Closing date: 16 November 2015.  For full competition details: http://www.sendmyfriend.org/young-ambassadors/