Educating our children for sustainable development [Archives:2002/28/Viewpoint]

Sustainable development was one of the core subjects of a month-long workshop currently organized by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung in Sanaa. The workshop is about writing proposals to fund projects for sustainable development in Yemen.
The first week of the workshop concentrated on the basic elements of a project that serves the goal of sustainable development.
After a series of thoughts, I realized that sustainable development could only be achieved in a long-run program. There is no short-term project that could have lasting development effects. Among those extremely important priorities for sustainable development is educating our children. It is unfortunate to see that our children today receive far worse quality education than the earlier generations. When talking about the future, we are basically talking about our children who will be the elements of either success or failure depending on how we raise them.
What we lack right now is a focus on the coming generations that will be shaping the future of Yemen in all aspects. Street children are everywhere. Students are not given appropriate education. Teachers are not qualified as in the past. Children are leaving school in an early age to find a job and secure food for their families. All of this is happening in front of our eyes and we seem to be helpless. Why?
How can we talk about sustainable development if we are not focusing on the ones who will shape our future? Arent we missing the point here?
When looking at our streets in Sanaa and in other cities, we will realize the level of carelessness and ignorance our children are suffering from by their parents. Quarreling boys, throwing stones at each other and at others is a common view witnessed today more than any other time in the past. You could barely find any paved street without thousands of stones thrown and put by children in that neighborhood. We cannot keep on witnessing this deterioration in ethics and education among our children without doing anything about it.
We must have a vision for true sustainable development. We should start our sustainable development program by giving priority to our future, i.e., our children.

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