On this blog, I often stress the importance of using education in efforts to alleviate poverty. Education puts people on a healthy path, giving them self-esteem and self-respect. Quality education gives people the skills and credentials to support themselves and their families.
Today, I want to point out that we need to make sure children get a quality education from a very young age. Poor children usually have already fallen behind before they even get into kindergarten. After that, poor children go to the worst schools in the unhealthiest environments. I suggest that anti-poverty organizations find ways to get young children from poor neighborhoods into quality schools.
If the children get a quality education in a healthy environment, they will have a great chance of not only escaping poverty but also of achieving more success in their life. Later in life, they will make more than enough money to pay back any student loans. In addition to student loans, the kids can get scholarships which they will not even have to pay back.
I think it may greatly help to enable poor kids to go to boarding schools in non-poor neighborhoods. That will not only give them a quality education but it will also get them away from the hindrances and ill-effects of poor neighborhoods, which have large amounts of drugs, violence, hopelessness, unhealthy influences and bad role models.
Getting kids out of poor neighborhoods and into quality private schools could break the poverty cycle.
If you know of any organizations that already provide scholarships to very young children from poor neighborhoods, please post about them in my World Hunger and Poverty Forums. I would love to help spread the word about such organizations. Please also use the forums to post comments about this blog post.