Building Brighter Futures

Education Cannot Wait and The LEGO Foundation investments support early childhood education initiatives in rural Ethiopia

By Education Cannot Wait

May 22^nd, 2024

Adapted Story from the Field. Special Contribution by UNICEF Ethiopia (Original).

Distinct sounds of joy come from inside classrooms in rural Ethiopia. Children call out to each other, inviting friends to join their games. Letters and numbers are repeated, and laughter punctuates each sentence.

This is just another morning at the new early childhood education classes in the villages of Akasha and Behima, where playful learning is a core part of every day.

“Our main intention to start early childhood education classes in our school was to improve students’ performance. This has been an issue for years and we wanted to lay the foundation at an early age.” ~Debela Tamiru, School Director, Akasha Primary School

Community commitment and ownership in the region has resulted in the construction of new pre-primary classrooms. In Akasha Village, parents, community members and the woreda education bureau made this possible – some provided building materials such as cement, sand and corrugated iron sheets, while others volunteered their time as masons and carpenters to build the dedicated areas for children ages 5-6.

With support from Education Cannot Wait (ECW) and The LEGO Foundation, UNICEF and partners like imagine1day are promoting and expanding access to early childhood education so that children in remote rural villages have access to formative early learning.

A teacher helps her young students with a puzzle in their classroom in Behima Village, Ethiopia. © UNICEF Ethiopia/Demissew Bizuwerk

In Ethiopia, only 50% of children are enrolled in pre-primary classes, according to the national Education Statistics Annual Abstract 2023. This number is considerably lower in rural settings where resources are limited.

Early childhood education lays a strong foundation for lifelong learning.

The brain undergoes the most rapid development during the early years of a child’s life. Stimulating environments and playful learning are crucial in promoting the cognitive, emotional and social development that supports success in school and later in life. Early childhood education gives children the opportunity to hone important skills, while encouraging curiosity and creativity, and boosting their wellbeing.

The new pre-primary classrooms in Oromia region are not only providing young children with a safe place to learn, but also ensuring that their earliest experiences in school are filled with joy, wonder and play.

Hear from young girls and boys reached by ECW investments in rural Ethiopia – testimonies of the sheer power and importance of early childhood education for every child:

Six-year-old Sinn hugs her backpack to her and smiles from inside of her classroom in Akasha Village, Ethiopia. © UNICEF Ethiopia/Demissew Bizuwerk

“School is where we get knowledge. My favorite subject is math. I love numbers. When I grow up, I want to be a doctor.” ~Sinn Geten, 6

Kalid proudly holds up his letter cards in his classroom in Behima Village, Ethiopia. © UNICEF Ethiopia/Demissew Bizuwerk

“My favorite letter is ‘K’ because my name starts with it. I play with my friend Garo, competing in who can first match the letters on the box. I love school because I can play with my friends here. I don’t want to miss school. It’s fun here.” ~Kalid Siraji

Five-year-old Sifen holds her workbook inside of her classroom in Akasha Village, Ethiopia. © UNICEF Ethiopia/Demissew Bizuwerk

“Every morning, I wash my face and hands, eat breakfast, and come to school. My mom helps me in getting dressed and ready for school. I learn and play with my friends here. I play with my best friend Ibada. I play with the other children too. I love school because it opens my mind.” ~Sifen Aman, 5

Ibada, 5, beams from inside of her pre-primary classroom in Akasha Village, Ethiopia. © UNICEF Ethiopia/Demissew Bizuwerk

“We learn first and then we eat lunch before we go home. I love my teacher. She is nice to us. She wants us to be good students. I love school because it helps us grow better.” ~Ibada Ahmed, 5

Sifen holds up her block letters to show off the A-B-C she has connected in her classroom in Behima Village, Ethiopia. © UNICEF Ethiopia/Demissew Bizuwerk

“I love the letter blocks because the colors are beautiful. I connect one with the other and make the alphabet. Look, I made ABC!” ~Sifen Juneydi

Five-year-old Farahan plays a number matching game in his classroom in Behima Village, Ethiopia. © UNICEF Ethiopia/Demissew Bizuwerk

“I have connected the numbers 1 to 10. Then I put the dots next to each corresponding number. I love this game because it helps me count the numbers.” ~Farahan Mohammednur, 5

Obse holds up her favorite learning tool, the multiplication table, in her classroom in Behima Village, Ethiopia. © UNICEF Ethiopia/Demissew Bizuwerk

“I love numbers. I want to be clever in math.” ~Obse Ahmedin

Six-year-old Maki smiles near the blackboard in his classroom in Akasha Village, Ethiopia. © UNICEF Ethiopia/Demissew Bizuwerk

“I love school because I get to play with my friends. Without friends, learning is not fun. I love playing football. My best friend is Kenenisa. We always come to school together. I feel bad when he is absent.” ~Maki Girma, 6

Five-year-old Asanti plays with blocks in her class in Behima Village, Ethiopia. © UNICEF Ethiopia/Demissew Bizuwerk

“If you get the sizes correct, the blocks do not fall. So, I make sure that I put the bigger ones first.” ~Asanti Ahmedin, 5

Imani, 6, stands by her friends in her early childhood education class in Akasha Village, Ethiopia. © UNICEF Ethiopia/Demissew Bizuwerk

“I have many friends here. We all play together. We also do sports activities. I love to run. I am a fast runner.” ~Imani Hanishu, 6

Six-year-old Fenet sits with her father, Alemayehu, in her classroom in Akasha Village, Ethiopia. © UNICEF Ethiopia/Demissew Bizuwerk

“We play many games in our school. My favorite game is hide and seek. I play it with my friend Ayantu and other kids. School is good for children. If we don’t come to school, we spend our time without purpose.” ~Fenet Alemayehu, 6

Alemayehu, Fenet’s father, has seen the impact that attending the classes has had on his young daughter. He says, “Fenet has more confidence expressing herself. She can also identify letters and numbers. Her elder brother started school in grade one and I remember how he was struggling.”

Students wave at the camera from Behima Primary School in rural Ethiopia. © UNICEF Ethiopia/Demissew Bizuwerk

These words – along with a mountain of research – underline the positive role of early childhood education in shaping learning and lives in a country that is facing one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.

Education needs in Ethiopia are immense, especially in areas affected by compounding challenges like armed conflict, climate change and forced displacement.

Since 2017, ECW has been supporting refugee, internally displaced and vulnerable host community children and youth in the country to improve access to holistic, safe and inclusive educational opportunities.

ECW has invested $64.8 million in Ethiopia to date, reaching nearly 325,000 girls and boys left furthest behind. ECW-funded initiatives have supported the construction and rehabilitation of schools, school feeding programmes, teacher training, distribution of learning and teaching materials, mental health and psychosocial support, improvement of water and sanitation facilities, non-formal and remedial classes, lowered accessibility barriers for children with disabilities and much more.

Preschool students in Behima Primary School love to learn with play. © UNICEF Ethiopia/Demissew Bizuwerk

In the mission to expand early childhood education access in the country, ECW and The LEGO Foundation have also provided technical and financial support –alongside UNICEF – contributing to the development of a national early childhood development and education policy framework. This framework aims to address the needs of the most marginalized children in rural Ethiopia.

ECW investments are currently supporting the production of more Montessori-based learning materials by local technical and vocational education centres. These learning materials will fill rural schools in Akasha and Behima village and beyond, ensuring that children like Fenet, Sifen, Obse and their friends have the tools they need to continue to thrive in the classroom.

Obse (center), Faydia (right) and their friend play with the multiplication table in their classroom in Behima Village, Ethiopia. © UNICEF Ethiopia/Demissew Bizuwerk

Access high-resolution photos from this story and our full media library on ECW’s FLICKR.

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