STREET CHILD GUIDES UNITED NATIONS IN LOCALIZING REFUGEE EDUCATION IN UGANDA
TK from CIYOTA, Clare from AWYAD and Robert from YARID - three of our amazing local partners
Amid the worldwide refugee crisis Uganda has welcomed more than 1.5 million refugees from neighboring countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi and South Sudan. It is estimated over 890,000 of them are children. Organizations like Street Child play an important role in making sure that refugee children get an education, alongside many Local and National Non-Governmental Organizations (L/NNGOs). These local organizations often end up having to compete for funding with larger international NGOs (INGOs) and ose out more often than not. Street Child is committed to supporting and working with these L/NNGOs because we believe that leveraging their expertise is crucial to effective, efficient and lasting interventions.
(Localization is) ‘Getting power to communities for them to lead solutions that best support their needs. Nothing about us without us - Dora from THRIVE Gulu, a local partner in Uganda.
Street Child was recently chosen by Save the Children to be Technical Advisor on Localization for two Education Cannot Wait (ECW)-funded programs in Uganda – the Multi-Year Resilience Program (MYRP) and the First Emergency Response (FER) for refugee education. ECW is the part of the United Nations that makes sure education is provided effectively in emergency situations, and provides necessary funding to organizations to implement vital programs. Street Child’s task was to advise on how to support local organizations to access this funding instead of the larger INGOs, and this blog briefly showcases progress to date.
Firstly, Street Child conducted research to understand the barriers L/NNGOs face when seeking funding. Some key challenges identified include competition with INGOs, discovering funding opportunities too late, lack of dedicated grant personnel to develop competitive applications and understand complex application processes, and language barriers - many applications must be prepared in English, which is often not the primary language spoken within the organization. Based on these findings, Street Child Uganda and Save the Children came up with the following recommendations and actions to ensure that localization is a priority in the ECW programs:
There should be a separate funding avenue for L/NNGOs to eliminate competition with INGOs.
The application process should be simplified for L/NNGOs.
At least 10% of funding should be ring fenced for L/NNGOs.
Successful organizations applying via this funding stream should receive ongoing and tailored capacity strengthening support from Street Child.
The above was all achieved through the establishment of a Localization Unit (LU) to act as an intermediary between the donor and the L/NNGO or grantee. The LU seeks to address the key barriers identified by overseeing the full grant life cycle, including creating a simplified application process and providing tailored support throughout project implementation.
‘One of the challenges we face when we have these proposal opportunities, is facing the competition of large INGOs and the high-level criteria required. The LU has made the process easier for us to fit in’ - Robert, Young African Refugees for Integral Development (YARID), Street Child local partner, Uganda.
Street Child collaborated with Save the Children to open a second window for funding exclusively for L/NNGO’s and community-based organizations, which eliminated competition with INGOs and allowed for a simpler application process.
As a result of this initiative 33% of Multi Year Resilience Program funding went directly to L/NNGOs, rising from 8% the previous year, and 26% of First Emergency Response funding went directly to L/NNGOs, surpassing the Grand Bargain commitment of 25%.
‘The Localization Unit in Uganda is an embodiment of our approach to supporting and empowering local partners at Street Child, said Street Child Director of Global Programs Tyler Arnot.
Localization should not be merely a buzzword; it is a fundamental necessity to ensure the sustainable and impactful delivery of quality education globally. Street Child is committed to providing local and national organizations with the support and resources they need across all our programs.