Archive for category: Children

Information and stories addressing children.

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Cuna Más: Transforming Early Childhood Development in Peru

Cuna Más: Transforming Early Childhood Development in Peru The COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted Peru, exacerbating its economic challenges, especially childhood poverty. Estimates reveal that childhood poverty rates stood at 39.9% in 2020 and decreased to 32.1% in 2021. Even before the pandemic, childhood poverty was a significant issue in the country. The Cuna Más program, which translates to “Cradle More,” aims to address this problem by providing enhanced support and resources for children.

Program Delivery

The Cuna Más program, initiated in March 2012, targets children from 6 months to 36 months old. Its primary objective is to enhance cognitive, language, physical and socioemotional development across different regions of Peru. In urban areas, the program operates daycare services that meet children’s basic health, nutrition, safety, protection and learning needs. Conversely, in rural regions, it offers a home visiting service, delivering weekly visits to parents of young children, including expectant mothers, to support early childhood development.

Early Success and Current Challenges of the Program

The Cuna Más program initially revealed significant growth, expanding from serving about 62,000 children in its first year, 2012, to 149,000 by 2016. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the program gained recognition for its success. The pandemic highlighted the need for further expansion and improvement, a challenging task given existing constraints. Even before the pandemic, the program faced several critical issues identified in a 2017 study. These included confusing and overlapping roles among staff, insufficient and inadequate materials and less appealing compensation when considering the long hours and extensive travel required. These ongoing challenges have increasingly complicated efforts to recruit and retain the necessary workforce in Peru.

Structural Changes and Potential Solutions

The challenges facing Peru’s Cuna Más program largely arise from organizational deficiencies, especially as it tries to expand. Originally scaled without adjustments to its foundational model, the program urgently requires structural reforms to enhance its sustainability and broaden its impact. Additionally, considering the mental and physical well-being of staff is critical; work schedules should be adjusted to avoid excessive hours that contribute to burnout. However, implementing these changes alone may not suffice to attract the necessary workforce. Recruiting volunteers internationally could be a viable solution. Organizations like International Volunteer HQ provide platforms that enable global volunteers to engage in meaningful work, which could help address staffing shortages in the program.

Looking Ahead

While the challenges facing Peru’s Cuna Más program are significant, tackling them is essential for the well-being of the nation’s youngest citizens. The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified existing issues, highlighting the urgent need for comprehensive reforms and enhanced support. Additionally, recruiting international volunteers could supply the necessary manpower and expertise to address current shortcomings. With persistent efforts and global cooperation, the Cuna Más program can potentially reduce childhood poverty and improve early childhood development in Peru.

– Matthew Mendives

Matthew is based in Colonia, NJ, USA and focuses on Global Health and Celebs for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Addressing Child Poverty in Andorra 

Child Poverty in AndorraAndorra is one of the smallest states in Europe with a total population of around 80,088 and an under-18 population of around 14,000 people. Although the World Bank designates Andorra as a high-income country (having a GNI of $75,090 per capita as of 2022), the leading cause of child poverty in Andorra seems to be a lack of economic resources and security. This in turn can lead to severe material deprivation for a child and their family.

Data Behind Child Poverty in Andorra

As of 2022, 14% of under 18-year-olds and 14.7% of under 16-year-olds are at risk of poverty and social exclusion. This is an increase from 2018 when 13.3% of those under 16 were at risk of poverty (living with an expenditure below 60% of the national median). However, what is interesting is that when looking at single-parent families with one or more dependent children the proportion of those at risk of poverty increases significantly. In 2019, 24.4% of under 16s in a single-parent household were at risk of poverty, with 17.4% of single-parent households struggling with severe material deprivation.

While there is limited data on hunger or malnourishment in children, data does show that around 0.7 to 1% of children are underweight or thin. However, Andorra boasts a 100% literacy rate, making education’s prevalence very high. This is likely due to Andorra making public schooling free, reducing the impact of poverty on a child’s education.

Tackling Child Poverty in Andorra

Although child poverty is still present in Andorra the general poverty rates are still lower than the EU average of 24.8%. The Andorran Government has also implemented multiple initiatives to tackle child poverty and its sources. One example of an initiative that has helped reduce child poverty in Andorra is the Parròquies Amigues de la Infància (Child-Friendly Parishes) initiative. UNICEF Andorra runs the initiative, operating at the regional level and it promotes children’s participation through child Councils; a dedicated “child-friendly budget;” childhood data collection; and “the development of a national plan for children in conjunction with the state government.”

UNICEF Andorra measures the progress of the individual parishes under this initiative. If reviewed positively it grants the parish “the Child Friendly Parish Recognition”. This initiative has been so successful that UNICEF has claimed that “[a]s of 2023, all the seven parishes in the country are involved in the initiative, reaching almost 14,000 children, making Andorra in effect a child-friendly country.” The effectiveness of the initiative is due to its partnership with organizations such as the Community Association and Ministry of Education, facilitating its focus on educating children about their rights so they are empowered to be able to defend their rights and alter their future circumstances.

Promoting Child Rights

The Andorran Government also plans to carry out dissemination campaigns about child rights so that people are aware of these rights, are less likely to violate them and are more likely to guarantee them. The Child-Friendly Parishes initiative has also been key in involving the voices of children in decision-making so that political decisions affecting them are more likely to take into account their wants and needs, allowing these children to help shape their future.

From 2021 to 2022, 80 children from 9 to 12 years old have been elected as councillors from their respective parishes, and 611 students of the same age have participated in workshops promoting participation. Furthermore, 28 people aged 14 to 16 take part each year in the General Council of the Youth where they discuss and debate different proposals for laws on topics that interest them, replicating the operation of the General Council. All seven communal children’s councils have also maintained Child-Friendly Parish Recognition. according to a 2022 report.

Although there is a significant lack of data on the SDG trackers with 35 out of the 48 child-related SDG trackers lacking data the government still demonstrates effective measures and initiatives to reduce child poverty in Andorra. The most effective means of achieving this is through education, which includes multiple initiatives, such as the Child-Friendly Parishes Initiative. Children have been effectively involved in decisions about their future, educating them on how to change their circumstances and future for the better, enabling them to escape child poverty in Andorra.

– Archie Day

Archie is based in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland and focuses on Technology and Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Wikipedia Commons

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Child Marriage in Lebanon

Child Marriage in LebanonIn Lebanon, 20% of girls are victims of child marriage. In 2017, UNICEF published a regional study on child marriage in Lebanon, reporting that the percentage of child marriage in the country varies with nationality. The study reported that 6% of the victims were Lebanese, 12% were Palestinian refugees from Lebanon, 25% were Palestinian refugees from Syria and 40.5% were Syrian refugees. The unstable political situation in the Middle East has made Lebanon a focal point for refugees who also become victims of child marriage.

Poverty and Child Marriage

Poverty affects 44% of the population in Lebanon. Between 2019 and 2021, the GDP per capita in Lebanon fell by 36.5%. In addition, The World Bank re-classified Lebanon from an upper-middle-income to a lower-middle-income country in July 2022. With unemployment hitting 300,000 individuals and a great increase in the intake of refugees, the rate of child marriage has seen growth, according to UNICEF.

Conflict causing a large refugee intake strained the Lebanese infrastructure and finances, resulting in refugees finding themselves undocumented and finding a solution in child marriage.

Those who live in Lebanon have also seen a rise in prices for their most basic needs, with inflation increasing by 200% since 2019, according to Anera. This results in many Lebanese, also non-refugees, having to marry off their daughters to survive.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also led to an increase in child marriage in Lebanon. Since the beginning of the pandemic, up to 10 more million girls worldwide are at risk of being victims of child marriage in the next decade. With school closures during the pandemic, the probability of child marriage could be 25% higher.

A Change Is Possible

UNICEF report shows that an approach to education can change the perception of child marriage. The report shows that 62.3% of girls who go to school are against child marriage, followed by 45% of girls who dropped out and 37.2% of girls with no education.

This demonstrates that there is a relationship between child marriage and education. Therefore, an increase in political pressure on educational policies in Lebanon and the Middle East could have a positive impact by reducing the cases of child marriage.

Lebanon does not have a personal status law that regulates issues like the legal marriage age. Instead, 18 different religious groups are regulating this issue, according to DW. In December 2020, The Sunni Supreme Islamic Council approved raising the minimum age for marriage to 18. Likewise, between November 2020 and December of the same year, Shiite Muslim religious authorities claimed to raise the minimum age of marriage to 15, DW reports.

A Structural Approach

ABAAD is an organization that fights for gender equality in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. ABAAD collaborated with Queens University to study what factors affect child marriage, aiming to obtain through data collection an understanding of why child marriage happens and how its cause(s) can be intersectional.

The study targeted different groups, ranging from mothers of victims of child marriage to community leaders and as was known previously, showed that some of the root causes of child marriage are education, political situations, instability and poverty.

ABAAD’s study, however, also provided a conclusion that is central to future strategies to prevent child marriage in Lebanon. The results demonstrated that female and male participants responded differently to the causes of child marriage, showing that the approach is gendered. From this, ABAAD concluded that future strategies, therefore, can target groups who have a differentiated opinion and aim to shift this gendered narrative. Such as challenging the gendered male narrative of being responsible for a family’s income.

Different factors affect the situation of child marriage in Lebanon. This is seen in how child marriage ranges with nationality, with studies demonstrating that education can impact the approach to child marriage, proving how its perception ranges with different societal groups.

Child Marriage in Lebanon therefore has multiple intersectional causes. With progress from the religious communities and organizations such as ABAAD that target these root causes, one can see a slow but positive shift.

– Daniela Maldonado

Daniela is based in London, UK and focuses on Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Save the Children in Ethiopia

How Save the Children Helps Ethiopian ChildrenThe Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, landlocked in Eastern Africa, is bordered by Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan, Sudan, Eritrea and Djibouti. The country is located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali peninsula, in the easternmost part of Africa. As of 2023, it has a population of approximately 127 million. Ethiopia is the second most populated country in Africa, behind Nigeria. Despite its large population, Ethiopia remains one of the continent’s poorest countries, with a per capita gross national income of $1,020, according to the World Bank. This region is currently experiencing its worst drought on record. According to Save the Children, more than 21 million children are affected. Since 2020, the severe lack of rain has devastated agriculture. The ongoing drought has made it impossible for millions to grow crops or raise livestock, leaving many facing severe hunger.

Save the Children’s Role and Response

Save the Children, a major nonprofit organization founded in the United Kingdom in 1919, aims to aid children in dire situations worldwide. With programs and members in 113 countries, the organization prioritizes support for children in the most resource-deprived nations.

In 2022, the Save the Children Ethiopia Country Office initiated a Category 1 humanitarian response plan across most of the country. This comprehensive plan encompasses the Northern Ethiopia Complex Response, the Hunger and Drought Response and the Forced Displacement Response. These initiatives aim to protect Ethiopian children, sustain their livelihoods and enhance food security. Save the Children operates in several regions, including Somali, Tigray, Amhara, Afar, Oromia, Gambela and the Southern, Central and Western Ethiopian regions, along with Sidama.

In 2023, Save the Children provided support to 6.8 million people in Ethiopia, including 3.9 million children. While the organization primarily focuses on aiding children, its efforts benefit the entire community.

Educational Initiatives and Health Focus

Save the Children focuses on providing educational resources to children. Approximately 13 million children in Ethiopia are not enrolled in school, nearly half of whom are girls, according to UNICEF. Many children who begin schooling often drop out before reaching secondary education. To counter this, Save the Children leads extensive programs with support from various stakeholders, concentrating on essential early childhood education in areas like math and literacy.

Save the Children also emphasizes children’s health and nutrition. Decades ago, many children died before the age of 5 from preventable causes. Significant progress has been made. Mortality rates have dropped from 123 per 1,000 births in 2005 to 59 per 1,000 in 2019, representing an overall decrease of about 15%. Despite these gains, nutrition remains a critical challenge, as malnutrition contributes to approximately 45% of children’s deaths. To reduce this rate, Save the Children integrates primary health care to ensure children receive necessary interventions, such as immunizations. The organization also spearheaded the Growth through Nutrition initiative from 2016 to 2023, which aimed to enhance nutrition and health care services.

Looking Ahead

Ethiopia’s severe drought has left millions of children facing hunger and hardship. Save the Children’s humanitarian efforts have been crucial in providing relief and support to affected communities. Its focus on education and health initiatives aims to address long-term challenges, such as malnutrition and school dropout rates. Ongoing efforts and support can potentially improve the lives of Ethiopia’s most vulnerable children and ensure a more stable future for the nation.

– Sabrina Betterly

Sabrina is based in Drums, PA, USA and focuses on Good News for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Increasing Access to Child Care in South Africa Supports Women

Child Care in South AfricaIn South Africa, women are disproportionately affected by unemployment, with the rate for women at 35.1% in 2023, compared to 31% for men. However, progress is being made in areas such as child care. Around 70% of care in Africa is provided by female relatives, with just 3% of care involving paid work. Africa has the highest amount of unpaid care work globally. This unpaid care work is a barrier to women’s participation in the labor force. Approximately 34% of women in Africa reported that unpaid care work prevented them from having a paid job, compared to 3.9% of men.

In South Africa, many waste pickers and domestic workers leave their children with neighbors as a form of child care. In Durban, a group of waste pickers collectively pays an elderly couple for child care, choosing this option for its affordability and flexibility in payment terms. The female caregiver accepts materials collected by the waste pickers as part of the payment. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, 68% of child care workers in South Africa said they were in danger of closing permanently due to rising costs. This threatened to decrease the number of child care options available further. However, different initiatives are addressing child care in South Africa.

Child Care South Africa

Child Care South Africa is one initiative aiming to provide quality child care in the country. Between 2017 and 2019, the Cash Plus Care (Qhawekazi) project was established to empower women aged 19 to 24. A total of 5,087 young women completed all 12 Cash Plus Care Empowerment sessions, highlighting the project’s extensive impact on their lives.

SmartStart

Furthermore, SmartStart provides communities in South Africa with access to high-quality early learning programs for children aged 3 to 4. About 80% of lower-income families in South Africa lack access to early learning for children younger than 5, making child care crucial not only for mothers but also for children’s futures.

One of SmartStart’s goals is to create a women-led care economy by empowering them to become early learning practitioners. Since 2015, a community of 9,000 practitioners has emerged. These Early Learning Practitioners are trained to secure government funding as microentrepreneurs.

South Africa’s Expanded Public Works Program

Started in 2004, South Africa’s Expanded Public Works Program (EPWP) trains unemployed beneficiaries, mostly women, in areas such as day care activities. By 2015, approximately 20,000 care practitioners had been trained. Reports indicated that this scheme contributed to income growth more than any other similar project. Women particularly benefited from paid care work, as they represented 90% of the home-based care workers who participated in the program.

The ECCE Program

By 2030, the government in South Africa aims for all children aged 0 to 5 able to access an early childhood care and education (ECCE) program. The National Integrated Early Childhood Development Policy (ECD) allows more women to have paid jobs because it alleviates the need for women to be responsible for child care during working hours. The following three benefits arise from supporting ECCE services:

  • More paid jobs in the care economy.
  • More women can form part of the labor force.
  • More assistance for children’s development.

The Future

The highlighted initiatives aim to increase the amount and quality of child care in South Africa. The additional support enables women to engage with the economy. This will improve the position of women while also benefiting the wider community and combating poverty by raising household income levels.

– Amy Fox

Amy is based in Birmingham, UK. and focuses on Good News for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Unsplash

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No Child Left Behind: Child Labor in Myanmar

Child Labor in MyanmarChild labor in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has been a problem in the country for many years. Some efforts have been made to reform this issue in the past, yet the numbers remain high. However, new initiatives and legislation provide a hopeful outlook for Myanmar’s children’s future.

Child Labor

Child Labor takes many shapes and children across the world are exploited in a variety of ways. In Myanmar, child labor is primarily used for agriculture, services and manufacturing. Regarding the statistics, the Ballard Brief verifies child labor as “58.3% in the agriculture division, 24.2% in the services division and 17.5% in the industrial division.”

Furthermore, the International Labor Organization (ILO), whose work in Myanmar is extensive, illustrates that “one in every 11 children in Myanmar is trapped in child labor – deprived of their childhood, health and education.” These numbers remain staggering but contextually are promising as they steadily decrease.

The Cause and Conditions

It is no secret that high poverty levels drive all family members to pursue a source of income. The higher the poverty in Myanmar, the more prevalent child labor will be in Myanmar. Addressing the issue of poverty is another way to protect the children of Myanmar, not only from dangers in the workforce but also from the dangers of lacking basic human necessities.

An article published by the United Nations (U.N.) in Myanmar has determined that “Poverty and crises are key to driving children into work.” The article stated specifically that “children in Myanmar between 5 and 17 years old are trapped in child labor, with more than half of them involved in hazardous work that directly endangers their health, safety and moral development.”

Understanding the causes of child labor assists governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and everyday people in developing quality solutions.

What’s Being Done

Many promising efforts are underway and currently in progress to tackle child labor. Myanmar has now ratified both International Conventions on child labor and the ILO’s on-the-ground projects have reduced child labor by 55% in three years in three pilot areas. In light of the significant reduction in these pilot areas, there is hope that once expanded, child labor will decrease.

Additionally, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is making significant strides to assist the children of Myanmar. UNICEF combats child labor in Myanmar by supporting government policy reforms and advocating for stronger child protection laws. It promotes access to quality education to keep children in school and away from labor.

Though child labor remains a significant challenge, the solutions are continually evolving and expanding. This growing momentum by Myanmar’s government and NGOs will help to eradicate child labor in the country.

– Abigail Johnson

Abigail is based in Oklahoma, USA and focuses on Good News and Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Ending Child Marriage in Guinea

Child Marriage in GuineaChild marriage occurs in many countries but Guinea has some of the highest prevalence rates in the world. The World Bank defines child marriage as a “marriage or union taking place before the age of 18.” Many often associate it with poverty and low levels of education, and it disproportionally affects girls. There are several successful programs to reduce child marriage in Guinea.

Affected Population

In Guinea, though the law states that the minimum age of marriage is 18, this is not always upheld in practice. According to Girls Not Brides, 47% of girls marry before 18 and 17% of girls marry before the age of 15. This compares with 2% of boys who are married before age 18.

Rates of child marriage differ based on location. Rates of child marriage are two times higher in rural than urban areas, which may coincide with higher levels of poverty in the countryside. Child marriage in Guinea is more common in some areas of the country than others, with the highest rate being in Labé where 76% of children marry before 18, according to Girls Not Brides.

Reasons behind Child Marriage

Child marriages are often done with parental consent and because of financial worries, as children can be offered in exchange for goods. Other reasons include religious beliefs and fears of girls falling pregnant outside of marriage, Girls Not Brides reports.

Child marriage brings many dangers to these girls; 95% of girls married before 18 experience FGM/C, according to Girls Not Brides. Girls who are married as children are more likely to give birth earlier and experience complications in these pregnancies. They also have a higher chance of contracting infections like HIV and are at a higher risk of experiencing domestic violence.

Child Marriage and Poverty

Guinea is experiencing high levels of poverty with, according to the World Bank, 43.7% of people living below the poverty line – this equates to 5.8 million people. Statistically, there is a strong positive correlation between rates of poverty and rates of child marriage. This can be seen in Guinea; Labé is one of the poorest areas of the country with 66% of people living below the poverty. The city also has the highest rate of child marriage in Guinea. 

UNICEF has identified that increasing access to education is a significant contributing factor to reducing rates of child marriage. According to Girls Not Brides, 63% of women without an education marry before 18, compared with 26% with secondary level education or higher. Therefore, a key aspect of tackling child marriage is increasing access to education; this is also an important aim of downsizing poverty.

Solutions

Though Guinea is amongst the highest in the world for child marriage, some changes are taking place. The country signed up to the SDGs, one of which aims to end child marriage. Guinea also signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child and in 2017 launched the African Union Campaign to End Child Marriage in Africa, according to Girls Not Brides. This campaign began in 2014 and aims to target the countries in Africa most affected by child marriage. It has given countries and leaders space to advocate for girls’ rights and has encouraged many countries to change their laws regarding child marriage. It has also led to more research on child marriage, providing important information on its impacts.

UNICEF has implemented the Fundamental Skills Improvement Programme, which trains teachers with the overall aim of improving the reading and mathematical abilities of children in Guinea. At the beginning of the program, 61% of students could not identify numbers. Just six months into the scheme this decreased to only 4%. Because of this success, many other schools are applying to the program, increasing its reach from 1,500 students to almost 6,000.

Equity Committee

The U.S. government has also offered help to increase access to education; the USAID education programme created an Equity Committee to grow the number of girls in education. The World Bank also joined this to fund studies into how to educate girls, as it was such uncharted territory, as well as running publicity campaigns to encourage more girls, and their families, to access education. This resulted in the percentage of girls attending school increasing from 23% to 36% and the percentage of boys rising from 51% to 66% in just four years.

This increase in education has had an impact on the number of child marriages in Guinea. There has been an overall decrease in the number of child marriages: the World Bank has reported that the mean age of marriage in 18-22-year-olds is 15.5, compared with 16.8 in 18-49-year-olds, therefore showing a decline.

There have been notable improvements and the future opportunities are looking brighter for Guinea’s young people as work continues to decrease child marriage in Guinea. By continuing to increase the number of children, especially girls, accessing education and by downsizing poverty, Guinea can further the progress made to eradicate child marriage.

– Eryn Greenaway

Eryn is based in England and focuses on Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Hope for Haiti’s Children: The Organization Helping Haiti’s Orphans

Hope for Haiti's ChildrenChild poverty is one of the most concerning global issues and one of the countries most affected by this problem is Haiti. More than three million children in Haiti require humanitarian assistance, with 1.2 million of them being orphans. The large population of orphans can be attributed to natural disasters, diseases and conflict in the country. Following the 2010 earthquake, the number of orphanages in Haiti increased by 150%, resulting in an “orphanage crisis” with around 760 orphanages in the country.

Hope for Haiti’s Children

Hope for Haiti’s Children (HFHC) is a nonprofit organization that works with orphans and other impoverished children in every phase of their lives, providing aid in nutrition, housing, health care, education, training and spirituality. Moreover, the organization offers sponsorship programs for underprivileged Haitian children, which benefit not only the children themselves but also their families, schools and communities. HFHC has also achieved sustainable nutrition goals by building a chicken coop and enriching the diet of the children by feeding them eggs. A protein-rich diet will help children battle malnutrition and prevent stunted growth. The chicken coop is also used to educate them about animal farming.

Sponsorship Programs

Last year, the Promising Adult Continued Education Sponsorship (PACES) program was introduced. It focuses on training the future labor force of the country with variable marketable skills and trades. The program is divided into two categories: residential and off-site training. The former is for younger students and includes the subjects of computer, language, baking, gardening and sewing. The latter includes the trades of solar technology, nursing, electrical work, plumbing, culinary arts, tile laying and cosmetology. As of 2022, 17 students enrolled in the program and were certified, becoming competitive in the local job market.

Fritz, a PACES program graduate, was able to enroll in university after completing the program. HFHC has sponsored him since he was 5 years old and he still maintains contact with his sponsor, whom he considers his mom. Now, he works as an outreach minister in the city of Thomazeau and trains local leaders through his leadership seminars, mentoring 200 teens of HFHC. His mom expresses her pride over Fritz’s journey. She has been an HFHC sponsor since 1995, supporting many of Haiti’s children during the years and contributing to educational, health care and lunch programs.

Vision 2030

In view of this, Project Hope was developed in 2019 as a long-term plan for improving the organization’s infrastructure by 2030. This includes doubling the capacity of the Thomazeau Christian Orphanage to accommodate 24 children, building a health and wellness clinic at the Hope Center in Thomazeau and extending the Hot Lunch Program to all its schools.

Additionally, HFHC aims to equip every school with a qualified nurse to follow up on medical needs and educate parents and children on health and wellness. It also aims to expand schools to have individual classrooms for each grade instead of shared space and ensure that each school has the physical build-up to provide schooling for the entire 13-grade curriculum. Finally, it plans to ensure the availability of vocational and job training programs throughout the year at the Hope Center.

Final Remark

By the end of 2023, Hope for Haiti’s Children had sponsored 2,401 children, 3,000 lunch programs, 3,800 Christmas Joy Boxes and more than 200 Christian Youth Camp Attendees. HFHC’s current success indicates a greater likelihood of fulfilling the Project Hope goals by 2030, which could reduce the child poverty rate in Haiti.

– Hafsa Dijoo

Hafsa is based in Sharjah, UAE and focuses on Good News for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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The Current State of Education in Madagascar

The Current State of Education in Madagascar Madagascar, an island country located on the Southeastern coast of Africa is the world’s fourth-largest island. It is filled with some of the most unique animals and plants such as lemurs, chameleons and baobab trees. Despite the country’s uniqueness and beauty, it is one of the poorest countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is also one of the only seven countries with a lower real per capita income than in 1960. This level of extreme poverty has created an educational crisis in the country, with the average Malagasy adult completing less than four-and-a-half years of school. Despite this crisis, some initiatives have been enacted recently to improve education in Madagascar.

Structure of Education in Madagascar

Education in Madagascar follows a structure similar to many Western schools, consisting of a five-year primary school, a four-year lower secondary school and a three-year upper secondary school. Education for 6 to 14-year-olds is compulsory. The students attend school from Oct. to Oct. and it typically runs from 6:30 am to 12:00 pm. Then at 2:00 pm it starts up again until 5:00 or 6:00 pm. They are given a two-hour lunch break so students can return home and come back to school by foot. Students in Madagascar take their classes in French and Malagasy. After the last year of each level of education, the Malagasy students must pass a national exam before proceeding to the next level. Madagascar education is set up for success, yet many do not finish their education.

Challenges Faced by Students and Educators

About one in three adults in Madagascar are illiterate. With 80% of the population living below the poverty line, it is hard for education to be a focal point in families. Many children have to start helping out in their homes as young as 5 years old. This keeps some Malagasy children from ever stepping foot into a classroom and for the children who do, only 60 out of 100 students will complete the full five-year cycle of primary school. However, even the students who stay in school lack literacy skills with 96% of students aged 6 to 10 unable to read a simple paragraph by the end of primary school. The lack of formal training for educators in Madagascar is seen as the cause for the poor literacy rates of those enrolled in school. 

The State of Teaching in Madagascar

Teachers in Madagascar receive minimal training and lack support from their administrations. Only about 4% of primary teachers possess the basic pedagogical and subject matter knowledge needed for effective teaching. In addition, about 80% of the Malagasy teachers have had no formal training. This disparity is largely attributed to the teacher recruitment process in Madagascar. Instead of focusing on selecting professional educators, they try to meet the demands of civil servants, leaving many of the teachers to lack formal training. This has caused the illiteracy rates to continue to be high, even for those who have been educated. 

Positive Developments in Education

Despite these educational challenges there have been strides for improvements. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) returned to the Malagasy Education Sector in Jan. 2024 after 15 years. Their new five-year, $10 million, Lova Project, is set to work on building foundational skills for a better future. Along with the National Ministry for Education, they plan to improve literacy, math and socio-emotional instruction for 65,000 students in 500 primary schools and enhance professional development for 1,500 teachers. They also aim to develop an early-grade reading curriculum. This will provide teacher training, learning materials and remedial classes focused on basic reading and math. The Lova Project shows great steps toward building a greater tomorrow for youth and teachers in Madagascar.

Looking Ahead

Madagascar’s education system faces significant challenges due to extreme poverty and insufficient teacher training. However, recent initiatives, such as the USAID’s Lova Project, aim to address these issues by improving literacy, math and socio-emotional instruction for thousands of students and enhancing professional development for teachers. These ongoing efforts represent a hopeful step toward overcoming the educational crisis and building a brighter future for Madagascar’s youth.

– Ellie Buss

Ellie is based in Vancouver, WA, USA and focuses on Good News and Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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3 Initiatives Tackling Child Poverty in Suriname

Child Poverty in SurinameSuriname is a Dutch-speaking nation located on the South American continent. According to the World Bank, 17.5% of the Surinamese population earn less than $6.85 per day. In other terms, more than 100,000 people in Suriname are impoverished according to the World Bank’s upper-middle income poverty line. Of note, 26% of children younger than 14 fell below this same poverty line in 2024, highlighting that a significant number of children belong to this more vulnerable portion of the population.

In 1993 and again in 2014, government-led solutions sought to combat child poverty in Suriname by reinforcing children’s right to education and decreasing the likelihood of child exploitation. Suriname’s Human Development Index figure of 0.690 in 2022, as opposed to the earliest recording of 0.667 in 2004, indicates a steady increase in child poverty alleviation, a positive achievement compared to neighboring countries. However, work remains to tackle the challenges faced by the young demographic. Therefore, here are some key initiatives working to tackle child poverty in Suriname:

Move Forward Suriname

The Move Forward Organization is a nonprofit organization based in the Netherlands, with efforts extending abroad to Suriname. In 2017, it kick-started a project in the neighborhood of Sunny Side, a suburb outside the capital Paramaribo. Move Forward Suriname offers an opportunity for greatly disadvantaged children to foster a sense of community through a program of lessons in music, dance and sport.

Between 2017-2018 and again in 2023, the initiative proved successful in providing these children with facilities, coaching and, crucially, a positive environment that prioritizes their well-being. The initiative is free and accessible, with bus transport provided for the weekly events.

The organization launched a new funding target of $3,000 with the ambition of returning to Sunny Side and providing the local children with these benefits once again. Currently, this round of funding aims to use its growing team of coaches to grant these children a robust skill set for employment opportunities as they move into adulthood. These skills include filming, photography and social media creation.

School Meals Coalition

According to the World Factbook, around 6.7% of children younger than the age of 5 in Suriname were underweight in 2018. This level of malnourishment often leads to multifaceted issues for young, growing children. These include diseases such as anemia, stunting during critical stages of growth and a general lack of concentration in day-to-day life. All of these issues pose a threat to these children’s well-being and future.

School Meals Coalition is an organization that focuses on policy change and works both in Suriname and internationally. Its initiative ensures that school children are entitled to meals that are equally nutritious and sustainable. Accordingly, it works closely with local producers and farmers to monitor and ensure the quality of the products fueling children as they learn and play.

In September 2023, the Surinamese government joined its scheme, supported by the Minister of Education, H.E. Henri Ori. Currently, 15,000 children are recipients of these life-altering meals and the Minister’s goal is to have all Surinamese children across the country benefit from this initiative by the end of the decade.

UNICEF and Telesur Partnership

For Suriname’s youth, mental health decline relating to living in deprived conditions presents an urgent issue. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), around 36% of young Surinamese people have thought about committing suicide and 76% have recorded feeling anxiety and depression in their day-to-day lives.

In March 2024, UNICEF Suriname announced a cooperative effort with the Latin American news service Telesur to help improve the well-being and prosperity of all Surinamese children. The new partnership seeks to incorporate awareness programs to support children’s mental health. More specifically, it is concerned with developing assertiveness, self-confidence and self-sufficiency in the underprivileged Surinamese youth.

At the signing of this partnership, the UNICEF representative for Guyana and Suriname, Nicolas Pron, argued that private “partnerships are at the heart of how we deliver results for children” and that the devised programs will be stimulated by private equity. The partnership also targets private companies wielding influence in the region. It aims to rally their corporate responsibility to pursue aid for Surinamese children.

Final Thoughts

For Suriname, alarming figures surrounding malnourishment, mental health and lack of opportunity jeopardize hope for prosperity among the country’s youth. However, nongovernmental initiatives intend to turn those statistics on their head, tackling child poverty in Suriname by improving immediate conditions and fostering wider, long-term social development.

– Ramiro Ruiz Martinez

Ramiro is based in Edinburgh, Scotland and focuses on Good News and Technology for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons