Right To Play reaches one million children

In 2008, when Johann Olav Koss’s organization Right To Play set a goal to reach one million children weekly, the number was still a distant dream. This month, in the buildup to this week’s award ceremony for the Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership, Right To Play has announced that this is a dream no longer: The organization has finally achieved that milestone. Right To Play, which works to teach life skills to urban youth around the world through games and sports, has grown significantly in the decade since its founding. In addition to reaching one million children (of which 49% are girls), as of 2012 the organization can boast that: Over 13,500 local volunteers serve as Right to Play Coaches, of which 56% are female. These coaches not only lead the local programs, but also serve as mentors for the children they work with Right To Play now includes 6,300 Junior Leaders, some as young as eight, who serve as role models for their peers 10,300 children with disabilities now participate in Right To Play’s programs in over 20 countries So what’s next for the organization? Right To Play hopes to reach two million children weekly by 2017. KRAVIS PRIZE CEREMONY AND RELATED EVENTS: This week: This year’s Kravis Prize winner Johann Olav Koss presents a CMC lunchtime lecture This week: Kravis Prize presents the “Global Leaders Forum”  event ALSO RELATED: Where’s Right To Play headed next? The United States CMC Breaking News: The Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership for 2013 Awarded to Johann Olav Koss Celebrity support for mothers2mothers and Pratham... read more

FAWE students tackle the issue of good governance in Rwanda

Who can solve the problems facing under-developed communities in Africa? FAWE girls! 2008 Kravis Prize Winner FAWE is teaching African girls not only to improve their own lives, but also the lives of all of those around them. And the work has paid off: A team of students from FAWE’s Girls School in Rwanda just won a debate on good governance in Rwanda. The high school debate, run by the Rwanda Governance Board, was centered on the question of whether the “private sector has contributed more than the public sector in the economic development of less developed countries.” The Deputy Director General of the Rwanda Governance Board, Fatuma Ndagiza, complimented the quality of the debaters, saying that the candidates spoke “with confidence and clarity. They provided rich ideas and documented on key sectors of the country’s development.” FAWE isn’t the only Kravis Prize winner to have an impact on international education: Pratham USA was recently awarded a Social Impact award in the category of “International Contribution to India” from the Times of India. The organization was acknowledged for its work to improve the quality of education in India. RELATED: FAWE: Gender is My Agenda (GIMAC) Summit Escuela Nueva: Learning Guides in Action Egypt: Soraya Salti puts her money on Egypt’s youth... read more

15.6% or 38.57%? Pratham disputes Indian government’s education figures

Every Indian citizen has a “right to education,” but are they receiving it? Despite attempts  by the government to improve education in the Indian province of Uttar Pradesh, this year’s Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), published by 2010 Kravis Prize recipient Pratham, has revealed that the state is falling short on the implementation of its Right To Education (RTE) program. According to Pratham’s report, only 15.6% of schools have achieved a pupil-teacher ratio that meets the RTE requirements. The central government had reported that 38.57% of schools have achieved the proper ratio.  The Times of India reports that other experts, adding to Pratham’s quantitative evaluation of RTE, say that: “RTE has boosted enrollment in schools, but the learning outcomes are still very low. “The focus is on infrastructure issues like building, enrollment, teacher-student ratio, mid-day meals but focus on education, a child’s ability to read, write and learn is not visible,” said a primary school teacher.” Until that imbalance is addressed, the efforts of Pratham as well as Roy Prosterman’s organization Landesa will remain crucial to improving the quality of life in India, especially in areas like Uttar Pradesh. RELATED: “Where’s Right To Play Headed Next? The United States” “Celebrity support for mothers2mothers and Pratham events” “A garden makes a difference: Seattle Times spotlights Landesa’s work with young Indian... read more

Celebrity support for mothers2mothers and Pratham events

2012 Kravis Prize recipient organization mothers2mothers and 2010 Kravis Prize recipient organization Pratham have recently gained significant support from celebrities in the U.K. in raising attention for two upcoming charity events that will benefit their organizations. In honor of Mother’s Day, mothers2mothers will auction off designer clothing and other items donated by celebrities in order to support the organization’s work to improve the quality of life for thousands of HIV-infected women around the world. Celebrity donors include Annie Lennox, Colin Firth, and former Spice Girl Emma Bunton. “I’m delighted to support mothers2mothers by offering this autographed package of ‘King’s Speech’ memorabilia,” Firth said. “I have enormous respect for the work mothers2mothers is doing to protect babies from HIV, and hope this auction is a great success.” Pratham UK also announced an April 24 Fashion Event in London in order to raise money for the organization’s efforts to boost literacy and arithmetic skills among children in rural and urban India. Numerous Bollywood and local celebrities are expected to attend the event, which will also showcase clothing and jewelry by famous Indian designers (including designer Payal Jain) and feature a performance by the “Got To Dance” TV stars known as “Pulse Collective.” RELATED: “Pratham USA receives Times of India award” “m2m: Mentor Mothers”... read more

Where’s Right To Play headed next? The United States

Right To Play,  founded in 2000 by Olympian Johann Olav Koss (this year’s recipient of the Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership), has spent the last decade empowering children through play in more than 20 countries all over the world. But the Canadian-based organization has never established a foothold in its neighbor to the South. Until now. In January, Koss and his organization announced the development of Play at the Core:  The Right to Play New York City Play-based Early Learning Program.  This partnership with the New York City Department of Education is Right To Play’s first domestic program in the United States. Soon the program will be addressing the achievement gap among low-income families in the Bronx. Currently, educators are being trained to bring Right To Play’s message of  of building life skills to urban youth through the power of play. Work and play might be treated as mutually exclusive areas for adults, but current research from the child development arena demonstrates how the two are interconnected. Play is crucial to learning and identity development in young children: This offers a channel through which they receive early impressions of teamwork and other people’s responses to them. For Sophia Pappas, executive director of the Office of Early Childhood Education in New York City’s Department of Education, that means that the new partnership with Right 2 Play is nothing less than a golden opportunity to help local children. The partnership will support “strengthening problem-solving skills of young learners,” Pappas says, “so that children at the pre-kindergarten age level are positioned to be successful learners in later years.” According to the organization, Play... read more
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