VOA常速英语2017--小布偶艾莫和他的朋友们为难民儿童教育助力（在线收听）

NEW YORK — 

In refugee camps everywhere, there is no shortage of curious young minds: more than half of the world's displaced population are children. But the barriers to receiving a quality early education are huge.

在那些难民营里，也绝对不乏充满好奇心的孩子们。难民儿童占到全世界难民总数的一半以上。而让难民儿童接受高质量早期教育仍面临巨大困难。

There are 250 million children whose developmental potential is at risk around the world.The global displacement crisis is bigger than ever before,and there are about 12 million children under eight who are displaced from their homes and in need of support."

“世界范围内，有2.5亿名儿童的潜力得不到发展。全球难民危机比以往任何时候都更加严重，约有1200万名八岁以下的儿童流离失所，他们需要我们的帮助。”

In response to the growing Syrian refugee crisis, the International Rescue Committee,together with Sesame Workshop have teamed up in a new initiative to provide quality education to young children displaced by conflict and persecution.

为应对日益加剧的叙利亚难民危机，国际救援委员会（IRC）携手芝麻街工作室推出新举措，旨在为那些因逃离战争与迫害而流离失所的孩子们提供优质教育。

Along with seven other semifinalists, the teams are in the running for a $100 million grant by the MacArthur Foundation’s “100 and Change“ global competition.

这两大团队正连同其他七位申请者进行一项角逐1亿美金的活动，这项名为“100改变”的慈善挑战由美国麦克阿瑟基金会面向全球发起。

“The fact that some 65 million people are displaced, half of whom are children, we knew this was an issue where we had to step up.”Sherrie Westin, an executive vice-president at Sesame Workshop says part of what makes their education model a success is their ability to address specific needs of children, using relatable characters that speak a child’s language and understand their needs.

“事实上，大约6500万人流离失所，其中一半是儿童，我们意识到必须加快解决这个问题。”芝麻街工作室执行副总裁谢莉·威斯汀表示，他们的教育模式之所以成功，部分原因在于他们能够满足孩子们的特定需要，即利用一系列贴近孩子心理的卡通人物，他们说的是孩子们的语言，也了解孩子们的需要。

To be in that environment, to have a furry little muppet like Elmo, or our Jordanian Muppet Tonton, and see those children light up — to see them laughing and playing and engaging —you know that gives you hope.And we would reach those children with that kind of joy of learning,but with proven educational content, that honestly can change their lives."

“身处那种环境，有个像艾莫一样毛茸茸的小布偶，或能有个约旦的布偶冬冬，就会看到孩子们眉开眼笑的，看到他们欢欢笑笑做着游戏，沉浸其中，你知道那给了你希望。我们会带着那种学习的喜悦接触孩子们，并教给他们真正有教育意义的东西，那真的能改变他们的生活。”

The IRC says its education-minded approach and existing infrastructure,combined with Sesame Workshop’s engaging content, make for a complementary partnership.

国际救援委员会认为，他们的教育方式及现有的基础设施，恰好与芝麻街工作室引人入胜的教学内容相辅相成。

According to both organizations, their content and outreach efforts are directed not only to children, but adult parents as well.The centerpiece of any early childhood development program for us will focus on parents: supporting parents, meeting them where they are, knowing that they have to work long hours,that they might face medical challenges, and often times are struggling themselves.And so to provide them support and services so that they can be great parents for their children is essential."

这两大机构表示，他们在内容和推广方面所做的努力，不仅服务于儿童，还服务于他们的父母。“我们认为，任何儿童早期发展计划，关键都在于父母。支持他们，体谅他们，知道他们必须工作很长时间，知道他们可能面临疾病挑战，而且常常独自忍受挣扎。因此，为他们提供支持与服务极其重要，将有助于他们成为伟大的父母。”

Whether their lesson is in classrooms or via smartphones in tents,the IRC and Sesame’s message to children and families everywhere remains unchanged:inclusion and acceptance will help children to grow smarter and kinder.

不管他们是在教室里还是在帐篷里通过智能手机学习，国际救援委员会和芝麻街工作室向每个家庭传达的信息始终如一：包容和接纳会帮助孩子变得更聪明、更善良。