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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Laura Ingalls (laura.ingalls@worldlearning.org) in Washington, 1.202.464.6973

SIT Grads Get Legislators to Sign Education for All Act

BRATTLEBORO, VT (April 29, 2008) -- Bernie Sanders and Peter Welch recently signed Education for All (EFA) Act after SIT Grad students petitioned the congressmen to sign the bill. "The students' efforts" says Jeff Unsicker, professor at SIT, "couldn't have expected many outcomes as impressive as single-handedly getting two legislators to co-sign a bill."  With over 77 million children around the world not receiving basic education, the Education for All Act calls for the United States to amplify its efforts to ensure basic education to children in the developing world.

On October 17th, the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, SIT students rallied faculty, staff and other students on SIT’s campus in Brattleboro to sign a petition for Governor Bernie Sanders and Congressman Peter Welch to sign the Education for All Bill. Roland Wango, SIT graduate student, assisted by Garret Wong and Libby Quintana mobilized students of SIT to take action. Speaking of choosing International Day for the Eradication of Poverty as a forum to get students to sign the petition Roland says, "there is a natural link between poverty and education." Roland grew up in Cameroon and speaks of his experience working with CARE International there: "Kids drop out of school or simply do not go on to finish their education and then they do not have marketable skills" and he concludes, "they go on being poor."  The Act would improve CARE and other international organizations’ abilities to get basic education services.

The EFA Act is a priority for many of the US international development advocacy organization and coalitions. The bill clarifies U.S. policy and lays out a plan to work with foreign countries and international civil society organizations to increase the global commitment to achieving universal basic education.

"It feels good" Wango says in reference to the legislators’ signing the petition he helped circulate, "to have contributed to something that contributes to the well being of people. People’s lives can really be improved from our efforts."

Click here for more information about the Education for All Act

Background on Roland Wango, SIT Graduate Institute Student and lead organizer of SIT's advocacy efforts for Education for all.

Written by Roland K Wango

I come from Cameroon in Central Africa. I had a quest for education with practical application; a masters program which will be career focused. I also looked for an environment where diversity and experience will be the climate both at the level of the students and faculty. Then I found SIT.

I am a candidate for the Master of Arts in Sustainable Development. I have been working since 2000 with local community-based, non-profit and non-governmental organizations in my country on public health related issues, particularly with sexually transmitted infections, malaria and tuberculosis. This is in line with one of the government’s strategies for poverty alleviation.

My most recent experience was within the ranks of CARE International in Cameroon, where I was a Project Coordinator. This was a nation-wide STI treatment and HIV prevention project aimed at truckers and resident communities on the Trans-African routes passing through Cameroon. I worked with CARE for 29 months before coming to SIT.

After my studies I intend to go back to the developing countries where my services will be needed. My greatest wish and hope is to go back to Cameroon. My Mom and I created an organization before I left called Caring for Women (CAFOW). I intend to go back to that with the baggage I will be carrying from here to get the organization off its feet. We aim at improving the lives of women and the girl child in rural areas of Cameroon. But like a rolling stone, I will gather all the technical moss I can on my way to Cameroon.