This project represents a concerted effort to draw from prior experiences and confront the deficiencies in educational access for girls impacted by crises in Ethiopia. Through a comprehensive strategy that intertwines safety measures, robust community involvement, and direct educational services, our primary objective is to bestow empowerment upon vulnerable girls. Beyond merely facilitating education, our ambition is to instill a sense of hope, equip them with essential skills, and open doors to a multitude of opportunities that pave the way for a brighter and more promising future. The holistic nature of our approach aims not only to provide academic learning but also to create an environment conducive to their overall well-being, resilience, and active participation within their communities. By fostering this holistic empowerment, we aspire to cultivate a generation of girls who are not only educated but also confident, resilient, and capable of contributing positively to their societies despite the adversities they have faced.
We Aim to Solve
Ethiopia has been embroiled in internal conflicts, notably the Tigray War from 2020 to 2022, which involved the Federal government and the Amhara and Afar region forces, and the long-term insurgency in the Oromia region and recent insurgency in the Amhara region, following the signature of Cessation of hostilities signed between the Federal Government of Ethiopia and TPLF. These conflicts have inflicted immense human suffering, widespread displacement, and severe economic damage. They have disrupted the education system and access to schooling, particularly for girls. Armed conflicts have disrupted learning environments by forcing the closure of schools, making them inaccessible or unsafe, especially for girls. This has led to heightened risks for girls, exposing them to gender-based violence, abduction, and exploitation in conflict zones, discouraging their pursuit of education. Moreover, families affected by crises often resort to coping mechanisms like child marriage and withdrawing girls from schools to reduce household dependents, exacerbating the challenges girls face in accessing education amidst economic hardship. Current estimates reveal that over a hundred thousand children and young people are either out of school or at risk of dropping out due to the factors of conflict, crisis, and climate-related emergencies. In the four (Afar, Amhara, Oromia, and Tigray) crisis-affected regions, girls of primary school age are 58 % more likely to be out of school than boys, significantly exceeding global averages (35%). This education crisis poses a significant challenge in ensuring the continuity of education for girls affected by these conflicts. The impact of young men and women being out of school due to conflict disproportionately affects the most marginalized, including vulnerable families. The lack of access to education increases the vulnerability of children, notably young women, to various risks such as psychological hardship, family violence, child labor, child marriage, and sexual exploitation. Displaced children with disabilities and adolescent girls also face significant challenges in returning to school. The overstretched formal education system requires extensive efforts to help children catch up on lost education time from the previous school year through an Accelerated Learning Program (ALP)
Our Goal
The primary goal is to help catch up with vulnerable young women affected by the war, focusing on establishing an effective Accelerated Learning Program that helps to reintroduce vulnerable youths in war-affected areas to education and skills development by offering tailored services to address their specific needs. The ALP goes beyond merely restoring education and intertwines education, practical skill development, and entrepreneurial development. The initiative involves the launch of two pivotal programs: (a) The Accelerated Learning Program (ALP), is designed for out-of-school children. It provides essential remedial support to bridge gaps in their learning from previous school years, significantly reducing the risk of dropout. (b) The Entrepreneurial Development Program (EDP), enabling out-of-school youth aged between 15 and 24 in return areas to access basic literacy, numeracy, life skills, and occupational training.
Teacher training programs play a crucial role in ensuring the success of these programs. The recruited teachers will play a pivotal role in educating pupils within the ALP programs situated in primary schools across returnee areas. Their responsibilities were instrumental in ensuring the successful delivery of the educational program within these schools. Instructors were meticulously chosen to uphold the standards of quality in literacy, numeracy, life skills, and livelihood training. Moreover, the ALP leaders will mainly consist of short-term consultants specialized in various business areas. IA will undertake comprehensive responsibilities encompassing the overall management and implementation of the EDP programs. This encompasses supervising and managing instructors, guaranteeing the delivery of high-quality training to young people within a safe and secure environment in return areas. The immediate project objectives focus on four core intervention areas: 1. Implementing community-based, accelerated learning, and teacher training programs to reach 1,000 girls and boys aged 9 – 15 years in conflict-affected regions within the next 12 months, measured by increased enrollment and graduation rates. 2. Enabling 1,000 girls and boys of school youth between 15 and 24 years in return areas to access basic literacy and numeracy, life skills, entrepreneurial and occupational skills training. 3. Partnering with parents, communities, and religious leaders to alter perceptions about girls’ education, aiming to achieve a 20% increase in community support for girls’ schooling within six months, tracked through surveys and engagement metrics. 4. Enhancing safety measures, providing mental health aid, and fostering resilience through on-site psychosocial treatment for 500 girls aims to reduce reported safety issues by 30% and bolster the uptake of mental health support. This progress will be evaluated through surveys and incident reporting, measuring the effectiveness of these interventions. 5. Catalyze systemic change by advocating for policy reforms and programmatic shifts that elevate girls’ secondary education as a national priority in targeted regions.
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