About 263 million children and youth are out of school globally, according to new data from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS).
Of all the regions, sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rates of exclusion. Over a fifth of children between the ages of 6-11 are out of school, followed by a third of youth between the ages of 12-14. Almost 60% of youth between the ages of 15-17 are not in school.
15 million girls of primary-school age will never get the chance to learn to read or write in primary school compared to about 10 million boys. Over half of these girls - 9 million - live in sub-Saharan Africa.
MILLION
263
9,000,000
million
BUILDING COMMUNITIES
THROUGH EDUCATION FOR
33 YEARS
From 1988, and during his service in the U.S. Navy, World of Difference Co-Founder and President Dr. Rick Nielsen (Ranger), made annual visits to Africa with the Operation Smile Orthopedic and Burn Management team between 1988 and 1998. Witnessing the magnitude of need that was present heightened his passion to "Make a Difference" and resulted in him leading a two-year project in Romania working in the orphanages in Bucharest which was co-sponsored by Operation Smile and USAID. IN 1998, Ranger co-founded Reach the Children and organized annual expeditions to Kenya where he co-led expedition teams to build primary and secondary schools. During his time as co-founder of Reach the Children, schools were also built in Ghana, Uganda and Zambia. In 2006, Ranger and Jodi Nielsen and their daughter, Kindee, co-founded WORLD OF DIFFERENCE and today, Ranger and Jodi continue on this journey to enhance educational opportunities for the underserved, along with empowering those in Malawi, Africa in Resilient Agriculture and Health and Nutrition initiatives and programs.
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