LOUGHTON: School enlists MP's help for world education campaign (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

Loughton school gets MP's backing in campaign to educate girls in developing world

8:19am Friday 13th January 2012 in News By Joe Curtis

A LOUGHTON school has petitioned its MP, asking for her help in ensuring that children in the developing world receive primary education.

Davenant Foundation School in Loughton contacted Epping Forest MP Eleanor Laing about the issue and she received 460 postcards about the campaign from school pupils.

The school in Chester Road is one of 6,000 UK schools whose participation in the Send My Sister to School campaign will be documented in a Parliament exhibition shortly.

The school got Mrs Laing’s backing for tackling the problem of 67 million third world children, of whom a disproportionate number are girls, not receiving even basic education.

Mrs Laing said the empowerment of women in developing world countries is incredibly important to improve their chances of good health and good education, and labelled it “appalling” to waste the skills and abilities of girls because of discrimination.

Click here to follow the Epping Forest Guardian on Twitter