THE EFFECT OF EDUCATION: CATALYTIC CONVERSATIONS
Education for Every Child Today (EFECT) is not only what we are working towards at Street Child, but it is also the name of an exciting project we are working on. In partnership with Educate a Child (EAC) a global program of the Education Above All (EAA) Foundation, supported by the Qatar Fund for Development, EFECT aims to place and retain 96,000 elementary school-aged children in education across Sierra Leone, Liberia, and northeast Nigeria over the next three and a half years, and make a lasting change at individual, community, and classroom levels.
A lot has happened over the past six months! Over this initial project period we have been able to identify the communities and out-of-school children who will be involved in the project. While this may sound like a simple task, it is this part of the project which is vital in ensuring that those who need support most receive it. Engaging with some of the most remote communities across all three countries is crucial in allowing us to create conversations around the key role that education has in the lives of children, as well as highlighting that children have the right to attend school. As part of this, 14,000 caregivers have been engaged across 290 communities within the three countries, and more than 9,000 out-of-school children have already been identified to enroll into education this academic year.
The Street Child project Rural Advocacy Officer said:
‘By the end of the engagement, they (the community) were motivated and understood that their children having access to education can create positive changes and improve their lives in the community.’
In the next step of the project process we look at the way in which the schools, communities and families are going to be supported. This is to make sure that children can stay in school and schools themselves can be run efficiently and effectively. One of the key barriers to education is the lack of a physical school structure, so part of this step is to construct schools.
School construction varies across the countries we are working in, and the approach is tailored to be most effective for that area. Across Sierra Leone and Liberia, we will provide a three-classroom structure, whereas in north-eastern Nigeria we will build temporary spaces because of the ongoing conflict. Teachers are also being recruited and trained.
Outside the school environment itself, ensuring that children are supported at home is incredibly important to their education. This is where the Family Business for Education program (FBE) comes into play. As the name suggests, FBE exists to help families overcome the financial barriers to their children’s education through entrepreneurship. The program provides a business grant, training in business skills and financial literacy and ongoing mentoring to ensure success. The aim of this initiative is long-term; building economic sustainability for families will bring about benefits that will outlive any project. To date we have found that one business can typically keep two children in school. The benefit of this program has already been felt over the past six months by caregivers in Sierra Leone, 300 of whom have already received their business grants, with a further 1,700 due to receive theirs soon.
This work is especially essential in Rhobana, a community in the northwest province of Sierra Leone which is dependent on agriculture. Many children in Rhobana are out of school because families need them to provide additional labor on their farms in order to earn a livelihood and survive.
Street Child’s local Rural Advocacy Officer worked alongside communities in Rhobana, hosting open discussions around the specific barriers to education in the region and how they can be addressed. This prompted a campaign, critically with local Chief support, to advocate for caregivers to enroll their children into school before the start of the school year in 2023.
The Rural Advocacy Officer reflected on working alongside the Rhobana community, acknowledging that, ‘…the community members in Rhobana did not understand the value of education when I first arrived’ but that through increased engagement, the community felt motivated and understood the positive change education can make to the lives of the people in the community.
So, what’s next?
More advocacy, enrollment, and classroom construction. We will advocate for children’s access to education, construct classrooms, recruit teachers and support families through the FBE. As always, there will be a strong emphasis on sustainability, with the project also focusing on attendance monitoring and improving student retention rates. As our Rural Advocacy Officer said, ‘I am excited to continue working alongside this community to enable out-of-school children to enroll in elementary education.’