A Level Playing Field


A figure of speech that envisages a situation that is fair to all; a situation where everyone has the same opportunity.*

The values of fairness and equal opportunity are taken for granted in the democratic states of the world. Especially in Scandinavia these values are considered a birth-right.

In many other places around the world resources and opportunities are not distributed equally. if you are a young girl in a poor Himalayan village, a handicapped child in the Amazon jungle or speaker of a minority language in Borneo, you know the difference between the haves and the have nots.

How can we even out the differences and help provide a level playing field for those who are disadvantaged?

We can provide training for the girls, who are trapped in the Sex Trade in India’s transit towns.

We can provide education opportunites for children with special needs – and in a culturally appropriate way.

We can develop the languages of minorities and strengthen their identity to help them take their own place in the world.

This is the task we face.

*McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.