Education for All Does It Comprise Girls Who Have Suffered from Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Poverty? : A Case Study of the Roles of an NGO in Educating and Supporting Its Target Group in Caracas, Venezuela

Abstract

As the global movement of Education for All was launched in Jomtien since1990 and the six goals of EFA were defined at the Dakar Forum in 2000, a series of global and national strategies and plans have been created and launched. In Venezuela, many education reforms were launched after 1999 around the time of Dakar Forum in order to achieve the six Dakar EFA goals. The programmes, projects and missions which were undertaken for the implementation of EFA goals have made certain achievements both extending compulsory schooling, increasing the enrolment and completeness, and eradicating illiteracy. However, the gap that a certain percentage of the population was out of school or illiterate still existed. Meanwhile, the girls who have suffered from sexual exploitation, abuse and poverty may be found in this gap.

Under these circumstances this research aims to study one NGO in Caracas called AMBAR which educates and supports the girls who have suffered from sexual exploitation, abuse and poverty. This study attempts to explore the role of AMBAR in educating and supporting its target group and discuss on whether AMBAR has achieved its goals and met the needs of its target group and whether its work fitted the framework of Education for All in Venezuela.

In this study qualitative research methods were chosen in order to achieve a deeper understanding of how AMBAR works in the Home/Workshop Project which initially aimed at educating girls who have been sexually exploited. However, various statistical data were also used as a complementary method.

In this thesis liberation theory and re-socialization theory contribute to the analysis of the data. The study weaves literature review and the data from the field together through an in-depth analysis and discussion and focuses on formulating a response to the research questions. The thesis ends up with a brief summary of main points, the researcher's notes and suggested recommendations for other studies.