When babies' and toddlers' bodies have to divert already scarce calories to maintain body heat, cold and hunger combine to weaken their health, growth, ability to learn and to relate to others.
Statistics: Education:
Africa has the youngest population in the world and as of 2005, 46 million African children had never even stepped into a classroom.
Only 60% of Third World girls are in school.
The higher the literacy level of a mother, the lower the chance of her child dying or living in poverty.
Children with education mothers are 50% more likely to live past the age of 5.
100 million children are not in school with girls make up 60% of those not in school.
Classrooms are often overcrowded 60:1.
Obstacles to education: school fees; children having to work; no local schools; shortage of well-trained teachers.
In the Third World teacher pay is as low as $2 a day.
In Zambia, more teachers are dying from AIDS than are being trained to teach.
Education is crucial in ending the cycle of poverty.