India is a country of cricket-lovers, so can soccer catch on?

Ashok Rathod is convinced that soccer is the best way to give kids growing up in the slums a second lease on life. Teamwork, leadership, respect and communication come out of the game for 22 players.

Having grown up in a Mumbai slum himself, Ashok knows exactly which problem the kids there face. Many start drinking and gambling as young as 10, he says, then get married early and drop out of school.

Committed to make a difference, Ashok founded the Oscar Foundation in 2006. The team organizes soccer practices and matches for young people – but also provides an education program aimed at giving school drop-outs basic literacy skills.

Listen to the report by Sanjay Fernandes in Mumbai:

 

First published on February 26, 2014.

Richmond, a small city in Northern California just outside of San Francisco, is known for two things: rap music and gang violence, which often leads to drive-by shootings and homicides.

But on Richmond’s southern edge, there’s a building called the RYSE Youth Center. The center was opened to give youth a safe haven from the realities of the streets.

Twenty-year-old Xavier Polk has taken full advantage of the opportunity and introduced a free music production class where he helps teenagers develop their musical talents – and stay off the streets and out of trouble.

Listen to the report by Anne Hofmann and Aaron Mendelson in Richmond, California:

 

Simon Patrick Obi from Nigeria built a library at a school in the rural region of Ketti just outside the capital, Abuja, during his time of national youth service. But even after his obligation was finished, he went back because he saw that more needed to be done to support not only the kids’ education, but also their health.

Simon found that just building a library wasn’t enough – he is now making sure it’s being put to good use so the students there get an education that will lead to a brighter future. But that’s not all – he’s also inspiring the next generation of youth to go on an make a difference too.

Listen to the report by Nonye Aghaji in Abuja, Nigeria:

 

Andeisha Farid knows how important it is for children to get an education. Born in 1983, she grew up as a refugee in Iran after her family was caught in the midst of war in Afghanistan.

Despite the odds, she managed to get an education in Pakistan. When she realized how fortunate she was, she made the decision to return to Afghanistan and set up orphanages there.

Through her organization, the Afghan Child Education and Care Organization (AFCECO), she is working to give some of the country’s estimated 1.6 million orphans a chance to succeed.

Listen to the report by Mischa Wilmers:

Educating Afghanistan’s orphans

Child labor is widespread in Thailand, and it’s often young immigrants from Myanmar who are most affected. Many children are forced to drop out of school and work in the physically demanding agriculture and seafood industries. And missing school means they don’t have a chance at getting a good job later on and overcoming poverty. Win Win Wa, 16, was born in Thailand her parents are from Myanmar. After having to work as a child, she was helped into an education by a Thai NGO. Now she’s helping others understand the importance of going to school.

Listen to the report by Nik Martin in Mahachai near Bangkok:

Education for child workers in Thailand

 

From official documents to funding and red tape, refugees in South Africa face numerous hurdles when it comes to attending a university. But Alice Wamundiya, originally from Rwanda, is committed to helping her fellow refugees get an education. She is a founding member and chairwoman of an organization called UTRS – Unity for Tertiary Refugee Students.

Listen to the report by Kim Chakanetsa in Cape Town:

Rwandan refugee fights for education equality

Mao Ju, 29, was concerned when she found out that many Chinese children don’t read for fun. She founded a free library in Beijing, for migrant children in particular, to help them discover the pleasure of reading. She involves the kids in the management of the library and encourages them to express their own opinions on the library blog.

Listen to the report by Gaia Manco in Beijing:

Empowering Chinese kids with books

Check out the blog that the kids at the library write every day.

Music education can help at-risk kids stay in school and out of drugs and violence, research indicates. And keeping kids off the streets is exactly what the Caacupé Music School, a free, after-school program in Buenos Aires’ 21-24 Shantytown, aims to do. For the past six years, four paid teachers and four volunteers have given lessons in singing, guitar, piano, violin, and a host of other instruments. They hope to instill a love of music in their students and keep them in school.

Listen to the report by Eilis O’Neill in Buenos Aires:

Argentina music school

According to Jonathan Jansen, a renowned professor at the University of the Free State, thousands of children fail in South Africa’s poor education system every year. However, 26-year-old Lonwabo and several other young men are trying to counter that with a non-profit organization they founded, called Unako. They provide mentorship to school children and also help schools in poor communities to build libraries.

Listen to the report by Faatimah Hendricks in Cape Town:

Opening doors for Cape Town kids

Sinu, 30, from Bangalore, gave up a promising engineering career to give back to her community. She is now on a mission to keep adolescent girls in school by promoting awareness about the taboo topic of menstruation.

Listen to the report by Pia Chandavarkar in Bangalore:

An ear for adolescent girls in Bangalore