Topic 1: Social Development Relating to the Family

Country: The Republic of Mozambique

Committee: Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Affairs

School: Skyview High School

Delegate’s Name: Devin Cusack

The cornerstone and foundation of every society and country, within the United Nations and the world over, is the family. The institution of the family is as diverse, as the people of this earth. The future of this institution and the world lie in the minds, hearts, and dreams of the world’s children. Yet, in the world today, millions of children face a world in which they are denied the most important tool for a successful future, an education. 428 million children worldwide, between the ages of six to seventeen, do not attend school, and 55% of these children are girls. (http://us.ilo.org/ilokidsnew/index.html, supported by UNESCO) These millions of children are denied an education each year for both economic and cultural factors. The most drastic of these factors is the economic necessity children become for poverty stricken parents. 1.2 billion people live on under a $1 a day (http://www.undp.org/hdr2002/ ), and often a child’s income is important to the survival of the family. Sometimes even being the deciding factor on 1 or 2 meals a day for the entire family. The second economic factor is the overwhelming cost for children to attend school. In more cases then not poverty stricken parents must pay for school tuition, and costs such as books and other school materials. Thus education is not a necessity when a parent’s major priority is day to day survival. Without an education these children’s lives will echo that of their parents, and it is the duty of this committee to recommend a solution that will prevent these children from entering the cycle of poverty.

The position of the Republic of Mozambique is that each and every child deserves an education to ensure a successful future. Over the last five years Mozambique has instituted the Education for All program, an educational initiative aimed at bettering education in Mozambique. More specifically the program’s goals are to provide basic education to every adult and child, develop school curriculum, provide quality teachers, provide necessary school materials and buildings, and develop alternative outside-of-school education programs. (The EFA 2000 Assessment: Mozambique) This program is coupled with governmental legislation that is aimed at reducing poverty through labor-intensive economic programs, the highest priority given to rural areas where 90% of Mozambique’s poor live (EFA 2000). Despite, economic reform, Mozambique still has an extensive problem involving child labor, due in large part to the large number of AIDS and war orphans on the streets. Mozambique is taking great strides to ensure the economic and educational future of its people. Yet, it still remains one of the poorest countries in the world, and has a long struggle with child labor and poverty ahead of it.

To find a solution to child labor, the underlying cause must be addressed. Poverty affects billions of people on earth for generations, and denies them an education for the future. Mozambique proposes a three-part plan. The first, of which involves, the creation of a worldwide Food for Education program that provides schooling free of charge for children, combined with three meals a day. As well as urging governments to combine this with monthly food allowances, in the form of wheat or rice, to those parents who comply with the program. The second aspect of the plan is the creation of work-study programs that provide single-mothers and young adults with occupation education training and food, in exchange for their services. The third aspect is the creation of a committee that grants loans, grants, and further aid to countries that institute educational reform. Mozambique wishes to expand and/or combine its program with delegates present at the conference, in the hopes that a comprehensive and agreeable solution can be found.