Can you imagine being in a bomb shelter learning how to read or write? Can you imagine being at school but playing during break time in a bomb shelter instead of the playground? This is the reality for many children in the Middle East currently.

One child in Gaza, interviewed by CNN last year, stated, “We used to study, attend classes, do homework, and our lives were happy,….[b]ecause of the war, we were displaced, and there is no more education, nothing else – no studies. Our lives have turned into fetching water and gathering food. I want to learn.”  Another nine year-old stated, “There are no more schools to learn in. Schools have become shelters for displaced people….Now, we go and fetch water and buy things from the market. We no longer study. If I had stayed in school, I would have grown up to become a famous doctor.” These are just a couple examples of children whose lives have been destroyed due to the inability to obtain an education in an area where education has become secondary and unimportant.

Obtaining an education is something that many take for granted. Malala Yousafzai stated that, “Education is not just limited to learning in a school or university. Education becomes part of your life. And you learn that you must continue learning throughout your life. It is not a one-time thing. You don't leave it behind when you leave your university building – you carry that passion for learning with you.” If a child receives an education, it becomes a weapon in unlocking many different career paths in that child’s life. As Malala said, “When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful” and, in a speech to the United Nations said, “One child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world. Education is the only solution. Education First.”

Christina Cushen is an emerging business and legal professional with a passion for gender equality, social justice, as well as human rights issues. She has a particular interest in advocating the vulnerable with disabilities and the disadvantaged.