The agreement signed by ProFuturo and Save the Children will by 2021 bring digital education to more than 6,000 children from Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo who are currently refugees in Tanzania. The project aims to improve the quality of education and combat school drop-out rates, aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic
The partnership between ProFuturo and Save the Children aims to improve the quality of education for 6,293 Burundian and Congolese refugee children aged 6 to 17. The goal of the project is to increase their chances of having a better future despite their situation of vulnerability. In addition, they want to strengthen the resilience of refugee children through psychosocial support and the involvement of teachers, parents and the entire community.
The initiative will bring together Save the Children’s experience in refugee camps and ProFuturo’s track record in teacher training and the provision of educational resources and technological equipment. The project will thus be implemented in eight primary schools and two mobile centres in the Nduta and Nyarugusu refugee camps in the Kigoma region of western Tanzania.
Educational context in Tanzania
School absenteeism among refugee children in Tanzania, poor teacher training in the camps, and the worsening of education in general as a result of Covid-19 are at the root of the project. According to Save the Children data, of the 107,000 school-age Burundians living in refugee camps in Tanzania, only 57 percent went to school in 2019.
Although the pandemic has become a global problem, it has not affected all the world’s regions to the same degree. “For those already starting from a situation of severe vulnerability, such as refugee children or children living in rural and isolated areas in developing countries, in countless instances Covid-19 is ending all hope of continuing their education“, said Andrés Conde, director general of Save the Children.
ProFuturo and Save the Children’s joint intervention aims to alleviate the effects of the crisis and give hope to families in these refugee camps in Tanzania through digital education. “Digital education facilitates the equality of opportunity. It allows education to be customised to different contexts and needs, and breaks down geographical and social barriers, making it possible to bring quality education to the most remote places on the planet“, confirmed Magdalena Brier, director general of ProFuturo.
Save the Children and ProFuturo in Liberia
In addition to the launch of Save the Children and ProFuturo’s new campaign in Tanzania, the parties involved have renewed their joint effort in Liberia. Since 2018, they have been in the country working to implement the digital education project in 60 schools. By 2021, the initiative will directly benefit 8,000 primary school children and 240 teachers.
