Obvious step: Obama needs to fulfill $2 billion promise

Thank you for Hal Bernton’s story about Julia Bolz and her struggle to help Afghan girls get an education [“Building a future for girls amid war,” page one, Jan. 3]. The story ends with the haunting quote: “Now, what do we do?”

Given that there are more than 75 million primary-school-aged kids and more than 225 million secondary-school-aged kids around the world who are not in school, the first step seems obvious. Saudi Arabia has been happy to fund Madrassas — religious schools teaching radical fundamentalism and developing Jihadists. While the President has committed 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan at a cost of $30 billion, he has yet to fulfill his promise to begin a Global Fund for Education at a cost of just $2 billion.

That fund would be supported by the developing world and help bring education to kids — particularly girls — who currently have no chance for education and no hope for the future. This would be money well spent and a chance to make a long term difference in the communities and countries benefiting from educated children.

— Bob Dickerson, Seattle

Seattle children educated as well

Thanks for the excellent article about Julie Bolz and her efforts to build schools in Afghanistan. As a parent of two children who became involved in Julie’s project through her collaboration with Coe School, I can tell you that the children in Afghanistan are not the only ones being educated through her efforts. Seattle children have been fundamentally changed by knowing Julie and the students in Afghanistan she has introduced them to.

Despite Julie’s efforts, it remains difficult for our children to comprehend that 75 million children around the world have never set foot in a primary school and may never will. Afghanistan is a prime example of the ways in which a largely uneducated population is easily recruited for terrorist activities and the country stagnates economically without an educated work force.

It is in the United States’ best interests to fund primary education and we can do so by creating a Global Fund for Education, much like the fund that has been successful in coordinating efforts of developed nations to address the AIDS epidemic. Funding global education isn’t a matter of charity. It’s about creating the kind of stability that allows our children — and all children — a chance to coexist and prosper.

— Marsha Hedrick, Seattle

Overcrowded classrooms a problem

Hal Bernton’s compelling article makes the case why a Global Fund for Education is needed. In my visit to Kenya this fall, I observed many classrooms with 60 to 80 students.

During the election campaign, President Obama pledged to budget $2 billion for a Global Fund for Education and catalyze a global movement. This focus on education is critical if we are serious about eliminating poverty, extremism and injustice.

— Linwood Carlson, Seattle