Skills For Hope has been working on initiating, assisting and supporting more educational skills development programs in Canada. Discussions are taking place with some Canadian registered charity organizations to see where and how Skills For Hope can assist, and of course, meet its primary goal of making a positive and constructive impact on the lives of those in need. Watch this space!

From an educators point of view, the He for She campaign launched by the UN Women’s organization and highlighted by Emma Watson, [click here to watch the video] is a great initiative. This is because it raises awareness of the crucial role that males can play in increasing educational opportunities for females. In my teaching experience, I have noted that when fathers, brothers uncles or granddads, actively support the educational endeavors of the girls in their families, it generates academic success.

Even while teaching English as a Second Language to girls in need, in the virtual classroom, I have noted that the assistance of the father or the brother is very valuable. The brother who will take and wait for his sister outside the centre’s classroom, so that she can safely attend the classes; or the father who will discreetly bring his work computer home so that his daughter can access the online lessons, are just a couple of examples from a list of many. Perhaps, we should now take this campaign further, and discuss how it can be translated into relevant practical strategies that can be implemented by males to support the education of girls and women. This would result in a positive impact on the educational opportunities for females and their academic success, which in turn would move forward the mandate of equal opportunities for females, in the wider arena.