Our Young Ambassadors for 2011 were Navdeep Bual, 15, and Yasir Yeahia,14.
Navdeep and Yasir, both from Seven Kings High School in Ilford, won the 2011 Steve Sinnott Award to be the Young Ambassadors for the Global Campaign for Education.
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Young Ambassadors 2011
Navdeep Bual, 15, and Yasir Yeahia,14 were winners of the 2011 Steve Sinnott Award. As the Global Education Young Ambassadors they visited Guatemala to investigate the barriers to education for their peers in a country where 78,000 children are out of school.
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Meeting young Guatemalan campaigners
Yas and Nav met Guatemalan campaigners Heidi, Maria and Kevin. They explained that girls face more problems in getting an education - 70% of the children out school in Guatemala are girls. photo: Jeremy Davison
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Meeting schoolchildren in Guatemala City
photo: Karen Garvin
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Fun with the children of El Castillo
The El Castillo project supports street and working children in Guatemala City. photo: Jeremy Davison
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Children sorting through rubbish in Guatemala City
1.5 million Guatemalan children work for at least part of the day. photo: Jeremy Davison
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A day on the streets
Yas visits the fruit market with Jose and sister Rosalita who spend the day selling fruit in the city's busy bus station. photo: Jeremy Davison
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Rosalita
Rosalita, 11, spends a few hours a day at an education project run by El Castillo, but sells fruit at the bus station to help her family make ends meet. photo: Jeremy Davison
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Chatting in the classroom
A typical class size in this city school is 50. Says Sofia, 14, “I don’t think it’s wrong because everyone deserves an education, but it means we get less attention.” photo: Jeremy Davison
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Meeting the Vice-Minister for Education
Yas and Nav asked the Minister about safety and security in schools, and the language problem - both major barriers to young people getting an education. photo: Jeremy Davison
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Meetings at DfID
As part of their role as Young Ambassadors, Yas and Nav met Secretary of State for International Development Stephen O'Brien to discuss the UK government's work in support of access to education. photo: Mark Chilvers/GCE
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Speaking out
Yas and Nav spoke about their experiences in Guatemala at the launch of the Send My Sister to School exhibition in the Houses of Parliament, showcasing children's messages to world leaders to a parliamentary audience. photo: Mark Chilvers/GCE
On their fact-finding mission to Guatemala with the charity Toybox and the Global Campaign for Education, they found out what life was like for the 5,000 street children in Guatemala City, met young education campaigners and talked to school children and politicians.
Throughout 2011 they supported the campaign by speaking at conferences and events, meeting politicians and decision-makers, and presenting our 2012 campaign video.
Send My Friend to School brings together thousands of children across the UK to speak up for the right to education.