VOA慢速英语:一个讨要铅笔的小孩激励了一个人建立了206所学校

From VOA Learning English, this is the Education Report.

美国之音英语教学，这里是教育报道。

Adam Braun established the organization Pencils of Promise in 2008. Its goal is to make sure all children have a chance for education. Six years later, the non-profit group is building a new school somewhere every 90 hours. It has helped more than 22,000 children in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Adam Braun于2008年建立了许诺铅笔组织。目的是确保每个孩子都有接受教育的机会。6年后，这个非营利组织每90小时就能在某地建一所新学校。帮助了超过两万两千名来自非洲，亚洲和拉丁美洲的孩子们。

It all started when Adam Braun was a college student. He was visiting India when a boy stopped him on the street, the boy asked for money. Mr. Braun asked the boy what he would want, if he could have anything in the world.

这个组织在Adam Braun还是一名大学生的时候就开始了。那时他在印度，一个小男孩在街上叫住他，向他乞讨。Braun先生问男孩，如果他可以拥有世界上任何东西，他想要什么。

“I thought the answer was going to be 'a house' or 'a car' or 'a boat'. His answer was 'a pencil'. So I gave him my pencil and he just lit up with joy. I realized he never had been to school before, and that was the reality for 57 million children around the world," Braun said.

我自认为他会说，我想要一栋房子，或者一辆车或者一艘船，出乎意料的是他的答案是一支铅笔。因此我把我的铅笔送给了他，他面露喜色。Braun说到，我意识到他从来没有去过学校，不幸的是全世界有5亿7千万的孩子跟他一样。

Adam Braun started working in finance after he graduated from college. But he never forgot the boy and the problem he represented.

Adam Braun毕业后从事金融方面的工作，但他从来没有忘记那个男孩和他代表的问题。

"We live in a world in which every single child can have access to quality education, because we have everything necessary already. We have the capability of educating every child. So I became immensely committed to helping create that world," Braun said

Braun说：“我们生活的这个世界，每个孩子都有权力接受优质教育，因为我们已经具备所有必要条件，我们有能力教育每个孩子。所以我开始致力于帮助建立那样一个世界。”

Mr. Braun raised money for his project by using social media. He paid for building the first Pencils of Promise school, in Laos, five years ago. Since then, his group has helped pay for more than 200 schools in rural areas of Laos, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Ghana.

Braun先生通过社会媒体为他的组织筹集资金。5年前，他出资在老挝建立了第一所许诺铅笔学校。从那时起，他的团队帮助出资在老挝、尼加拉瓜、危地马拉和加纳建立了超过200所学校。

He says, his organization works closely with the local education agencies. He says the officials organize the main program of studies. But he says his group provides additional learning materials about health and water and waste systems. Pencils of Promise also works closely with communities.

他说，他的组织与当地教育机构合作紧密，有关官员组织学习的主要课程。他的组织提供有关健康、水和废物处理这些额外的学习材料。许诺铅笔组织还和社区密切合作。

Leslie Engle Young is another Pencils of Promise employee. She says local people are willing to combine efforts and resources for children's education.

Leslie Engle Young是该组织的另一名工作人员。她表示当地群众非常乐意为孩子们的教育提供帮助和资源。

"We started saying 'OK, how can we get your 20 percent? What part of the labor can you do? What materials do you have that you can contribute to the project?' And through this really organic conversation, we start building a true partnership with these people," Young said.

Young表示，我们一开始便问，‘好的，我们如何能得到你们的20%?你能做什么工作?你能向我们的项目提供什么资源?’通过这些系统对话，我们开始和这些人建立真正的伙伴关系。

Such support helped Adam Braun decide to expand his organization's work beyond the elementary school level. Pencils of Promise developed financial plans to help students continue on to secondary school and teacher training.

这类支持促使布劳恩决定将该组织的工作扩大到小学层次之外。许诺铅笔组织制订了财务方案帮助学生们继续接受中学教育和教师培训。

"We are really rigorous about making sure that the programs are not just beautiful photos and videos of kids, but that we're actually seeing incredible results in the classroom. And if we're not seeing results, then we need to change our programs. That's why our kids in Pencils of Promise schools progress from one grade to the next at two times the national average," Braun said.

Braun说：“我们认真确保该项目不仅仅是有关孩子们的漂亮照片和视频，我们在课堂上看到了令人难以置信的成绩。如果我们看不到这些成绩，我们就必须改变我们的项目。这就是为什么许诺铅笔学校升级考试比例是全国平均水平的两倍。”