Education

Pulitzer Center journalist Steve Sapienza's, "Bangladesh reels from the impact of climate change," video airs 12/8, on Worldfocus.

Where and when to watch Worldfocus on TV

Last year, rising tides destroyed more than 300 schools in Bangladesh leaving children with no place to learn. In response to the worsening floods, social entrepreneur Mohammed Rezwan created 28 "school boats" to bring school to Bangladeshi children. Rezwan, NGOs and governments in poorer countries are trying to address the impacts of climate change now.

As the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change began today, a group of leading Bangladeshi members of parliament and internationally renowned climate change experts held a press conference in Copenhagen's Bella Center to raise awareness of their country's vulnerability to global warming, and its readiness to put adaptation funding to immediate use.

Overwhelming global interest in COP15 ("Convention of Parties") led to a few glitches as conference attendees descended on Copenhagen over the weekend of Dec. 5-6. On Dec. 1 the organizers announced they were no longer accepting applications from media to attend, having already reached a maximum of 5,000 (later it was announced this was cut to 3500). 34,000 people in all were attempting to participate in the conference, but the Bella Center, a vast, somewhat makeshift conference complex just outside of Copenhagen, has a capacity of 15,000.

Shaun McCanna will discuss Afghanistan on the "Veteran's Voice" radio program on Friday, November 20. The show will air on KBOO 90.7 in Portland, Oregon during the 9am Pacific time hour.

Shaun McCanna will be on The Michelangelo Signorile Show on Friday, Oct. 30, at 3:30 EST, discussing the heroin problem among soldiers in Afghanistan. The show airs on the OutQ channel, Sirius 109/XM 98.

Listen to this report.

This story also aired on KUOW on Oct. 26.

Like India, Pakistan has its share of call centers, offering everything from customer service and tech support to health insurance and home security systems. Jessica Partnow takes us through a night in the life of Ali Jaffri, a professional telemarketer in Lahore.

Filmmaker Alex Stonehill explores the complex intersection of faith, poverty and education in Pakistan today.

The Nepali government will give $1.6 million for the education of the former kamlari girls, or indentured servants.

Primary education is compulsory in Pakistan, and the country has a large public school system. But many of these schools are just marginally functional. Corruption is rampant, teachers play hooky, and some schools exist only on paper. The problems are so widespread that the term "ghost school" has become a household phrase.

Jessica Partnow reports from Karachi.

Listen to this report.

Pakistani singer Shehzad Roy spent much of his childhood in the U.S., and was troubled by the poor quality of public education he saw when he got back to Pakistan. So he founded an advocacy group called the Zindagi Trust, designed to reform failing public schools.

This program re-aired on World Vision on Oct 2, 2010.

Listen to this report.

Three decades of war and internal conflict has left an indelible mark on the fabric of Afghan society. Nowhere is this more evident than Afghanistan's educational system. Here, the success or failure of the country's schools will have tremendous impact on its future.

Video by Shaun McCanna, Flamingo Productions

Produced in association with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting

Began airing on Foreign Exchange September 11, 2009