A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

ECW’s COVID-19 response in Uganda with Finn Church Aid, Humanity and Inclusion, Save the Children, War Child Holland and ZOA brings refugee children back to the safety and opportunity of learning

By Education Cannot Wait

December 23^rd, 2020

“Being a girl, I am proud to have made it to P7 (7th grade). Many girls do not make it this far,” says Priscille.

Priscille is a bright and energetic 15-year-old girl with the world in front of her. Unlike many other refugee girls and boys who fled from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Priscille was lucky enough to have reliable access to school and was enrolled at the Kyempango Primary School in Uganda.*

Then COVID-19 hit, and Priscille and millions of girls like her were cut off from the safety, protection, and opportunity that reliable in-person learning provides.

With support from Education Cannot Wait (ECW) and in partnership with Finn Church Aid, Humanity and Inclusion, Save the Children, War Child Holland, and ZOA, Priscille and thousands of other refugee boys and girls like her are now receiving home learning materials, radios, learning packs and other support materials to keep them engaged, prevent them from dropping out, getting married early or being forced to start working.

ECW’s COVID-19 First Emergency Response in Uganda was launched in April 2020. The activities are now up and running and are providing educational continuity for refugees and host communities impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. Through the support, more than 60,000 refugees and host community children are being reached. Of those children, 50,529 received home learning materials or learning packs. Learn more about Priscille and ECW’s investments in Uganda.

Priscille is keeping up on her schoolwork with the distance learning packs. Photo © Save the Children

Precautionary measures in unprecedented times

When the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Uganda on 21 March 2020, the government took swift action to minimize the virus’ spread. All education centers were closed as a part of these precautionary measures.

According to recent reports, school closures across the country left upwards of 15 million children – including 600,000 refugees – out of the classroom.

“Our children became idle and were loitering around the village doing nothing during the COVID-19 lockdown…In fact, we were worried if some of our children – especially the girls – would ever go back to school,” says Alex William Loburi, Refugee Welfare Chairperson of Uganda’s Ofua Cluster.

Alex William Loburi, Refugee Welfare Chairperson of Uganda’s Ofua Cluster. Photo © ZOA

The Impact

Before the pandemic, education was on the rise in Uganda as refugee and host-community children were finally able to access quality education through a series of government-led initiatives, including the multi-year resilience programme in Uganda, known locally as the Education Response Plan, to which Education Cannot Wait provides seed funding.

To ensure this progress is not stopped, the Ugandan Ministry of Education and Sports developed a preparedness and response plan aimed at helping children to continue their learning while the schools were closed.

Priscille received a learning pack and radio from Save the Children, which enabled her to continue her education at home.

In addition to the learning packs, 2,689 of the most vulnerable households received hand-held battery or solar-powered radio sets. Over the past six months, more than 412 hours of radio learning have been broadcast. These programmes were mainly Primary 4 – 7 content; but also provided child-friendly information on COVID-19 and interactive call-in sessions.

“I will listen to radio programmes. I will look for stations on which lessons are conducted since reading alone is very hard and some content is not easy to understand,” says Priscille.

After the distribution of home learning materials and solar-powered radios, the number of children engaged in distance learning has increased significantly in the Ofua Zone, according to Alex William Loburi.

“The learners here are our seeds. We want them to learn and become responsible people tomorrow. But if the sun destroys them then we will be left with nothing to go back with to South Sudan,” says Loburi.

While learning has become increasingly difficult due to school closures, COVID-19 has also taken a toll on the mental health of children and youth. In response, mental health helplines were set-up by War Child Holland.

These helplines, staffed by social workers who speak the local languages, are providing callers with life-saving counseling and support. So far, 952 callers, across three districts, have already been supported. Based on demand, the helplines are set to expand their reach to four more districts soon.

Students, teachers, and volunteers are also being trained on methods to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Messages are being shared through posters, flyers, radio broadcasts, community ‘drive-throughs’, and door-to-door community outreach. These life-saving messages include a dedicated focus on child protection, safeguarding, and education messages. In all, the education in emergencies response has reached over 35,000 caregivers (including parents and guardians) with guidance on how to support children’s wellbeing, tips on learning from home, and how to encourage play during the lock-down period.

Girls and boys with special needs are also benefitting from the investment, with 1,453 children with disabilities (about half of whom are girls) reached with home visits, and close to 500 children with visual impairments reached.

To reach far-off communities, teachers and community-based volunteers were also provided with bicycles and trained on small-group, community-based and socially distanced teaching and learning techniques.

Looking Ahead

While the First Emergency Response programme in Uganda has had a positive impact on the lives of girls and boys like Priscille, much more still needs to be done.

Due to the uncertainty of COVID-19, school closures in Uganda are expected to be prolonged. To ensure that educational progress is not further disrupted or even lost, providing continued access to distance learning opportunities is of utmost importance.

A separate investment from the COVID-19 response, Education Cannot Wait’s multi-year resilience programme is already gaining momentum. With just US$20 million in seed-funding from Education Cannot Wait, the programme has now mobilized US$126 million in additional co-financing. The overall goal is to mobilize a total of US$263 million in Uganda through public and private sector donor support. Through this collaborative approach, the Government of Uganda hopes to reach 1.9 million crisis-affected children and youth. Key partners and donors in this Education Consortium include the Government of Uganda and the Ministry of Education and Sports, ECW, UNHCR, UNICEF, EUTF/ECHO, USAID, Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, Finland, Norway, Ireland, the LEGO Foundation, Enabel/Belgium (BTC) and Korea/KOICA.

Globally, the number of out-of-school children in conflicts and forced displacement is rapidly escalating with at least 75 million children and youth worldwide being deprived of an education.

The future of an entire generation is at risk. To continue education support for children like Priscille, ECW and its partners urgently call on global leaders, public donors, philanthropic foundations, and the private sector to mobilize US$400 million to support these children and to help ensure that no child is left behind.

2019 Update

ECW’s investments significantly improved access to education: in Uganda, following ECW’s support to the Education Response Plan 3 , the primary gross enrolment ratio for refugee children improved from 53 per cent in 2017 to 75 per cent (71.4 per cent for girls) in 2019.

Footnotes

*Priscille’s name was changed in this article to protect her identity.

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FootNotes

*Priscille’s name was changed in this article to protect her identity.