Qatar royal family's pet project reaches goal of educating 10 million marginalized children
Sheikha Moza bint Nasser speaks during an Education Above All event at the New York Public Library, April 28. / Courtesy of Education Above All
By Park Si-soo
An educational aid project initiated by the wife of Qatar's former ruler has reached its goal of offering “quality primary education” to 10 million poor school-age children around the world.
Chairperson of Education Above All (EAA) Sheikha Moza bint Nasser announced the landmark achievement during an Education Above All event co-organized with UNICEF at the New York Public Library, April 28.
“Experts told me that educating 6 million children would be impossible,” Sheikha Moza said. “But I refused to believe it. One adviser told me to set a goal that was more realistic. I thought I heard him say optimistic, so I set a target of 10 million!”
She is the consort of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, former Emir of the State of Qatar.
The event put together world leaders and high-level figures such as U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the President of Ghana Nana Akufo-Addo, Permanent Representative from Qatar to the U.N. Sheikha Alia Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani and UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore.
See full statement: https://bit.ly/2KpyLvj
Sheikha Moza said in 2012, when 60 million young children were out of school, she wondered whether it was possible to provide quality education to 10 percent of them. The majority came from the most marginalized, most vulnerable communities in the world. Many had been displaced due to conflict, others were refugees. Some were fleeing poverty or natural disasters. And none were in school.
She said the next five years will see Educate A Child work to expand its existing programs and implement new ones.
"We will take what we have learned and apply it to the new challenges we face,” she said. “Going forward, our efforts will require more than money and good intentions.”