Education makes one aware of the environment and possession of one’s rights as an individual to access the provisions that have been curated for them in that environment. Being educationally backward is being ignorant of one’s environment and ignorance breeds persecution. This Sample Proposal would help in the holistic development of the indigenous people through empowering and educating them. The objective of the proposal includes developing a comprehensive plan for the holistic development of the indigenous people and designing a culturally appropriate educational curriculum suitable for indigenous children, so as to increase the level of education amongst the children. Get a detailed look at this sample proposal.
Project Background
The term indigenous or aboriginal refers to something that exists naturally in a particular region or environment; hence, Indigenous peoples, communities or nations are the ‘first people’; the inheritors and practitioners of their unique cultures who have retained the historical continuity of their social, cultural, political and economic characteristics till date!
There are approximately 370-500 million indigenous peoples worldwide in over 90 countries making up 5% of the global population. Their natural way of existing and keeping distance from the other modernized and ever-changing sectors of the societies has helped safeguard 80% of the world’s remaining biodiversity.
Although their ancestral knowledge and possession of vast natural resources and property, model them as an asset, their detachment from the globalized world makes them more vulnerable and sensitive to the changing times. Being educationally backward is one of the major reasons for having this downcast. Education makes one aware of the environment and possession of one’s rights as an individual to access the provisions that have been curated for them in that environment. Being educationally backward is being ignorant of one’s environment and ignorance breeds persecution. Something of similar sort is being experienced in Niger, a country located in West Africa.
Niger is a developing country which ranks 189th of 189 countries in HDI (Human Development Index) 80% of its land area lies in the Sahara Desert and the non-deserted portions of the country are threatened by periodic drought. The largest indigenous tribes here (Hausa, Zarma Songhai and Kanouri) consists of sedentary farmers and the remainder are nomadic or semi-nomadic livestock raising tribes (Tuareg, Fulani, Toubou and Diffa Arabs).
Moreover, the rapidly growing population here has now led to consequent competition for meager natural resources thereby leading to conflicts in recent years! 49% of the population here is under the age of 15 and even though education is compulsory between the ages of 7-15, the school attendance marks at just 37% thereby succeeding generations living the same life of poverty. Though the practice of slavery was outlawed in 2003, almost 8% of the population are still slaves and this descent-based slavery is traditionally practiced by at least 4 of Niger’s 8 ethnic groups. Though the government and various organizations continue to work on their protection and upliftment, their ignorance, due to the lack of education and self-induced detachment has led to their exploitation. They lack formal recognition over their own land, territories and natural resources and even when they are recognized, protection of their boundaries and natural resources is weak.
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