Working Girl part 1

So I got the job!

At the organisation which works for Equality in Education.

Here’s the deal: There is a Ministry of Education in this country. And there is a curriculum (sv. Läroplan). But the ministry is apparently a bunch of people waiting for their retirement and the curriculum is sort of followed - sometimes.

There are no inspectors who check the quality of education in schools or make sure that the budget allocated for education is actually used for education. There is no one who makes sure that the curriculum is followed.

Which leads to…

Kids from lower “socio-economic” areas (poor neighbourhoods) do not have schools to attend in their neighbourhood, so they are sent to boarding schools (sv. internat) far from home and families. Also they might not receive the necessary schooling to do further education in universities.

There are a lot more strange and terrible things happening to children whose parents don’t know what rights they have.
For instance, kids are recommended to go to vocational schools (sv. yrkesorienterade skolor), forced to use Retalin (to make them calm and more focused) to be allowed into classrooms, or are classified as mentally disabled and are put in special education. All of this because they might not have Hebrew as a first language or maybe can’t read or write because the teachers they’ve had before were not licensed to teach.

The groups who mostly benefit from the organisation I am working for now, are Arabs in Israel, Bedouins and Ethiopian Jewish new immigrants.

The organisation I am working for, is teaching parents about what rights their children have and getting parents organised in groups so that they can fight authorities and demand to be treated fairly.

My job will be fundraising. Writing to different foundations all over the world and asking them to fund our organisation or donate computers to schools or something like it.

Most of my work will be writing letters in English, meeting with officials from Embassies and presidents of foundations. There might be a possibility of travelling. But the organisation I work for is very small and I suppose it will be up to me if I manage to raise money so that I can travel.

So if anyone has any ideas on foundations or companies with a policy of donating money to different causes, tell me.

I am really nervous about the job by the way but I know it is all about being new and all. When I know the organisation inside out I will be very good at selling. Hey, if I could sell service to corporations, I am sure I can sell a good cause to foundations. Right?