Archive for category: Education

Information and stories on education.

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How AVANTI’s Initiatives Lifted an Ecuadorian Town from Poverty

AVANTI's InitiativesNestled in the Andes mountains of Ecuador, the small rural town of Pistishi-Tolte or the Devil’s Nose, was once plagued by extreme poverty, with nearly all of its residents living in dire conditions. Deemed one of the poorest parts of Ecuador, most residents relied solely on agriculture to make a living, working day and night in the fields to scrape by. After witnessing these unfortunate circumstances, a local nonprofit organization, AVANTI, came up with a plan to lift the town out of poverty. AVANTI’s initiatives in education, agricultural innovation and community empowerment have significantly improved Pistishi-Tolte’s economic and social conditions. Through its efforts, the town has begun its journey to economic recovery.

AVANTI’s Education Initiatives

AVANTI saw how the lack of education structure impacted the community’s ability to find and hold down higher-paying jobs. It tackled this problem in three ways:

  1. It built the infrastructure to house educational opportunities, starting with a library and multiple schools.
  2. It worked on restoring and acquiring the proper educational equipment in the town. The nonprofit set up a computer laboratory in the library and provided educational materials for schools and nurseries.
  3. It organized and finalized educational programs, such as computer classes at the library and English and reading courses at the school and completed the special education programs.

This groundwork to improve education and literacy was set in place to improve employment rates due to better education and higher-paying skills.

AVANTI’s Agricultural Innovation

The NGO improved the overall farming experience for the existing agriculture system in Pistishi-Tolte. It also accomplished this goal in three ways:

  1. Its new school system implemented an agricultural training program. This program allowed for more effective and efficient training on technology and sustainable agriculture practices both in person on the field and in the classroom.
  2. It created and implemented an organic uvilla program. This technique was used to introduce crop rotation and organic farming to grow golden berries. By educating the farmers on organic farming methods rather than chemical-heavy traditional methods, the farmers gained confidence and saw results in better crops.
  3. It created a community to pool resources and share knowledge since farmers came from all over the town to receive education in these new methods.

These AVANTI’s initiatives increased food security and reduced poverty due to higher incomes from better crop yields.

Prioritizing Health in Community

One of the ways AVANTI empowered the community was by emphasizing health in the town. It focused on achieving this goal in two ways:

  1. Providing spaces to seek medical treatment or for health education. It built a primary care health center to give instant medical attention to critical cases and oversee medical brigades. In addition, by constructing the library and other community spaces, the community was able to acquire education on health and wellness to improve their lives.
  2. Providing access to aid: Bringing aid to families. It was able to transport life-saving health care items to homes, such as water filters, first aid kits and fire extinguishers.

These efforts set in place a system to improve the livelihood of all residents of Pistishi-Tolte.

Conclusion

AVANTI turned a town suffering from extreme poverty and being one of the poorest places in Ecuador into a thriving city out of poverty’s grasp. The nonprofit used infrastructure and systems in education, agriculture and community empowerment through health to achieve its goal. AVANTI provided safe places for the people to learn to improve their job pay, farm with sustainable practices to improve crop yields and get access to health care to improve their quality of life.

– Rachel Venable

Rachel is based in Berkeley, CA, USA and focuses on Good News and Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Pixabay

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Higher Education in Sierra Leone

Higher Education in Sierra LeoneSierra Leone is a low-income country on the West African coast that is still recovering from a decade-long civil war (1991-2002). The Ebola epidemic (2014-2016) only hindered Sierra Leone’s ability to bounce back, with children losing a year of schooling during this time. In 2019, 72.4% of Sierra Leone’s rural population lived below the poverty line and the adult literacy rate was 51%.

Gender Disparities in Sierra Leone’s Education Enrollment

Gender disparities exist in Sierra Leone’s education enrollment. For instance, in 2021, boys completed lower secondary education at a rate of 46%, while girls did so at a rate of 67%. Additionally, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that 27% of boys and 18% of girls completed upper secondary school.

A research paper published by IGI Global highlights the consistently low overall enrollment ratio in tertiary (higher) education in Sierra Leone from 1950 to 2010. It also reveals that from 1995 to 2010, the gender gap in higher education enrollment has widened.

Sierra Leonean students can only attend technical and vocational institutions or the University of Sierra Leone’s constituent colleges after finishing secondary school. As of 2020, 17 universities were registered with the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) of Sierra Leone, along with 15 post-secondary institutions offering undergraduate degree programs through affiliation.

While the government has mainly focused on improving primary and secondary school attendance, the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education (MTHE) has also been focused on improving the quality of higher education in Sierra Leone.

Government Support for Higher Education

The Universities Act of 2005 reoriented higher education in Sierra Leone by supporting the establishment of private universities. There are at least 11 private higher education institutions in Sierra Leone that the TEC accredits. Many of these private institutions are affiliated with public institutions so that they can offer undergraduate degrees.

The MTHE offers students access to higher education through the government’s Grant-in-Aid and the Student Loan Scheme. Further, an Act of Parliament in 2001 instituted the Eastern Polytechnic and Milton Margai College of Education and Technology (MMCET) as polytechnics, ensuring that both institutions will focus on providing hands-on, applied education.

In 2023, the Minister of the MTHE, Dr. Ramatulai Wurie, outlined recent improvements in Sierra Leone’s higher education system and plans for further enhancements to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Secretary-General. One notable improvement is the investment of 21% of the national budget in the Free Quality Education (FQE) program from 2018 to 2023.

Wurie emphasized President Julius Maada Bio’s objective to increase education funding. Wurie also stated that the government overall and the MTHE are improving “teaching methods, curriculum review… and youth empowerment.” UNESCO has also helped by providing support for the development of a National Science, Technology and Innovation Policy for Sierra Leone in 2022. Viewing middle manpower as crucial for Sierra Leone’s growth, Wurie emphasized the government’s commitment to strengthening the nation’s Technical Vocational Education Training (TVET) sector. This investment is aimed at boosting socioeconomic development and preparing the younger generation for the job market.

Higher Education Challenges and Solutions

Higher education institutions still need to update their academic programs to meet the current job market’s demands and the Assuring Quality Higher Education in Sierra Leone(AQHEd-SL) project is the first step toward doing so. In 2022, the AQHEd-SL pilot successfully helped develop curriculum review processes for eight post-secondary institutions in programs associated with health, science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), management and agriculture. It also trained 37 quality assurance officers to work in universities and 450 university staff members in learner-centered teaching and critical thinking. The University of Sierra Leone led the AQHEd-SL partnership with many local partners, including Njala University and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, U.S.

Establishing standard learning outcomes for programs in similar fields of study is another issue in Sierra Leone’s higher education system that needs to be addressed. Systems like credit transfer and standardizing qualifications across different institutions’ programs give students the flexibility to switch between different institutions across the country. The drafted National Qualifications Framework(NQF) is credits-based. It seeks to provide a form of standardization for learning programs in similar fields throughout different institutions within the country. According to the African Continental Qualifications Framework, Sierra Leone drafted a new NQF in 2024 and the document is being examined in a nationwide consultation process with stakeholders.

Higher education institutions have also complained for many years about political interference and requested more autonomy. Bio responded by using the Universities Act of 2021 to remove the role of Chancellor from all public universities. This legislation allows other citizens to be appointed in such a leadership position for public universities. There are also plans to address compliance concerns raised by the new leaders of the public universities by improving regulatory frameworks and providing more support for the new Chancellors.

– Elisabeth Nwasokwa

Elisabeth is based in Bellerose, NY, USA and focuses on Good News for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Global Engineering Is Helping Impoverished Communities

Global Engineering Is Helping Impoverished CommunitiesThe field of Global Engineering is helping impoverished communities and making significant strides in addressing global poverty at two major U.S. research institutions. In May 2024, the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering and Resilience (MCGER) at the University of Colorado Boulder partnered with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to visit Armenia in West Asia. The goal of the visit was to improve water management and resources in impoverished Armenian communities.

Additionally, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) recently established the K. Lisa Yang Global Engineering and Research (GEAR) Center, thanks to a $28 million donation from philanthropist Lisa Yang. The GEAR Center focuses on applying engineering research to benefit resource-strained communities.

What Is Global Engineering?

Research Universities like the University of Colorado Boulder believe that global engineering is the application of engineering tools and technology to provide equitable access to safe water, sanitation, energy, food, shelter and infrastructure. The university’s ongoing research projects have included delivering cookstoves and water filters to households in Rwanda to prevent disease and providing research analysis on the safety of reconstructed shelters for hurricane disaster relief in the Philippines and Puerto Rico.

Furthermore, in May 2024, the university visited Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia, to communicate and train with the Government of Armenia, local communities, students and faculty at Yerevan University on modern water management. University of Colorado Boulder also provided a program for Armenian students to understand water resource management, simulation modeling and data analytics.

Engineering is helping address the fact that billions of people worldwide face threats to their health due to poverty. At MIT’s new GEAR Center, a team of MIT researchers and engineers plan to utilize new technologies and science to face real-world global health issues. The team has already visited the Middle East and North Africa, providing water-saving and solar-powered irrigation solutions through exploratory field research.

The Future of Global Engineering?

The global engineering program at the University of Colorado wants to continue to evolve engineering education to adapt to the changing world. The program wants to train future engineers not just in science and technology but also in global development and equity. An interdisciplinary approach to the field of engineering means knowing how engineers can help global poverty reduction and improve the livelihood of people on a global scale.

At MIT, global engineering is helping a new generation of engineers apply research and design strategies to help impoverished communities and meet global challenges. “These talented young students, postdocs and staff have the potential to reach across disciplines — and across the globe — to truly transform the impact engineering can have in the future,” said Dean of Engineering Anantha Chandrakasan.

– Jacob Buckner

Jacob is based in Raleigh, NC, USA and focuses on Technology and Solutions for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Unlocking Economic Opportunities With Education in the Congo

Education in the CongoThe Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) boasts the world’s second-largest rainforest, a wealth of precious minerals and large crude oil reserves, the spoils of which most Congolese do not enjoy. In fact, two-thirds of the population lives below the poverty line, subsisting on less than $2.15 a day. This dire situation stems from a long history of sociopolitical turmoil. Additionally, ongoing violent conflict in the DRC has stunted economic growth and subjected citizens to prolonged instability and violence.

Furthermore, inhospitable conditions are most acutely burdensome for women, who face gender discrimination, early marriage, poverty and food insecurity. Women with little or no educational attainment are even more vulnerable to experiencing these issues. Humanitarian organizations are investing in programs to make high-quality education more accessible throughout the Congo. These efforts are instrumental in the fight against gender inequality and extreme poverty.

Education in the Congo

For underprivileged Congolese children, tending to crop fields is more routine than sitting in classrooms reading and writing. Beginning in the ’80s, parents had to pay tuition fees to send their kids to school. Then, in 2019, a new policy waived the cost of attendance, enabling more than three million children to enroll. While higher rates of young people attending school is an encouraging sign of progress, the education system in the DRC needs to be equipped to accommodate the influx; classrooms are overcrowded and instructors are overwhelmed.

Education Cannot Wait

Education Cannot Wait (EWC), the global fund for education in less-resourced areas, has stepped in to aid the DRC. The nonprofit is addressing teacher shortages, supplying psychosocial support services and training for educators and instituting nutrition programs at school. As of August 2023, EWC has built or rehabilitated 343 classrooms and trained 2,425 teachers. The inclusivity and protection component of its mission has facilitated the distribution of more than 3,000 female hygiene kits to girls and supports the monitoring of school performance.

Other Initiatives Supporting Education in the Congo

Another organization dedicated to increasing the universal availability of education in the Congo is the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which has allocated $7.7 million toward improving classroom instruction. USAID works closely with faith groups, private institutions and international partners to provide greater academic resources for at-risk communities with low literacy rates and poor math scores. Its initiatives aim to equip schools with sufficient supplies like textbooks and higher-quality lessons in social and emotional skills, numeracy, soft and vocational skills and literacy.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), partnered with the French Development Agency (AFD), is also conducting a four-year teacher training project in the Congo. One of the guiding motivations behind the program is to boost the presence of women in the educational profession, which may make school environments more welcoming for girls.

Final Remark

Certainly, investing in the education and empowerment of young Congolese will yield significant benefits for the DRC. It will advance the country’s efforts to eliminate extreme poverty and build a more prosperous future for its citizens. Enhancing the availability and quality of educational resources is the crucial first step toward these overarching objectives.

– Natalie Kaufman

Natalie is based in Orlando, FL, USA and focuses on Good News for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Wikipedia Commons

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Whole Day School Improves Education in Croatia

Education in CroatiaThrough the improvement of education through vocational training and the Whole Day School, Croatia has managed a steady poverty index. While Croatia’s relative poverty index has remained relatively stable since 2018,  certain demographics within the country are more likely to live in poverty than others.

These demographics include the unemployed and the undereducated. Although some Croatians struggle with poverty and income, vocational training has become a steady remedy for these struggles. The most significant remedy is changes in education—both among students and teachers.

Programs Benefit Teachers and Students

Implementing programs that better the classroom for both students and teachers is a positive addition to communities in more ways than one. Education not only improves job opportunities but also makes a society more employable overall. Empowering individuals to become more involved in political and economic decisions, increasing income and productivity and fostering cohesion in social aspects are all the ways that education helps to eliminate poverty.

While Croatia has had its dips and changes in the poverty index, it has been relatively stable in the past couple of years because of the implementation of educational changes in both its vocational training and early childhood development years.

Whole Day School and SEE

In 2021, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance, H.E. Zdravko Marić and the World Bank’s Country Manager for Croatia, Mr. Jehan Arulpragasam, approved a Loan Agreement for Croatia: Towards Sustainable, Equitable and Efficient Education Project (SEE Education). This project aims to strategically strengthen school infrastructures, improving learning environments for Croatian students. The project will do this through Whole Day School, which improves students’ learning outcomes.

Whole Day School supports the reform of the schoolroom, which is necessary for both the teachers and the students. Teachers are required to have “increased instructional hours and improved teacher training.” Fine-tuning the credibility of this ensures that students are learning in a productive environment and that teachers are receiving the most they can out of their jobs.

In addition, the Whole Day School has set the school day to align with the windows of the work day. Parents whose students are now going to school can alleviate the stress of their labor market demands as their children are safely in school while they are working.

Vocational Educations

While there have been improvements in the educational sector for children, teachers are also reaping the benefits of these reforms. Croatia is making sure that “vocational education training is more relevant to the labor market.” According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), teaching is a first-choice career for 67% of teachers in Croatia. Many of these teachers (at least 91%) “cite the opportunity to influence children’s development or contribute to society as a major motivation” to entering this labor market.

Final Remark

With a combination of increased instructional hours and a system such as the Whole Day School model that benefits not only the students but also the parents, Croatia has seen a remarkable change in its educational institutions in the last 30 years.

– Hailey Nurry

Hailey is based in Pennsylvania, USA and focuses on Business and Good News for The Borgen Project

Photo: Flickr

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Where There Is No Doctor: Providing Health Care Education to All

Health Care EducationFor more than 50 years, Hesperian Health Guides has provided health care education to remote communities, aiming to address and reduce the global health disparity.

The Scarcity of Health Care

With advances in technology and medicine contributing to the increase of global life expectancy, there remains a persistent disparity in access to quality health care between higher and lower-income countries. According to a 2020 study conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO), there is only one doctor for every 3,324 people in Africa. In contrast, in Europe, there is one doctor for every 293 people.

The varied distribution of people versus health care workers highlights the scarcity of adequate health care in some regions of the world. To achieve universal health coverage, organizations like Hesperian Health Guides are providing health care education to rural areas where there is little to no access to doctors.

Where There Is No Doctor

Following his experience of working at Project Piaxtla, a primary health care program operated by disabled village health workers in western Mexico, David Werner wrote and published “Where There Is No Doctor (Donde No Hay Doctor)” alongside his colleague Jane Maxwell. It is the first health care manual to consider the people of low-income and rural settings. Originally published in Spanish, “Where There Is No Doctor” explained complex health topics in a comprehensible language.

Since the 1973 publication of “Where There Is No Doctor,” Hesperian Health Guides has issued more than 40 titles to 221 countries. Its books, which have been translated into more than 85 languages, explain topics such as general health, women’s health, children’s health, environmental health, disabilities, health rights and advocacy and more. With each book taking about four to 10 years to complete, the nonprofit continuously updates and revises its handbooks.

Making a Global Impact

Pivotal stakeholders in global public health commend the accuracy, accessibility and clarity of Hesperian Health Guides. For example, since the ’80s, every Peace Corps volunteer has been supplied with copies of Hesperian handbooks. Through donations, the Hesperian distributes its books to various community health workers, including missionaries, midwives, teachers, community organizers, nonprofit organizations, health educators and government agencies.

Each stakeholder utilizes the Hesperian Health Guides to address the health concerns of their community while actively reducing the global health disparity. According to its 2023 annual report, Hesperian Health Guides has helped about 2,700,000 people. For those with access to the internet, the organization’s free HealthWiki has been providing health care education to more than 36 million people since the website’s launch in 2011.

Conclusion

With the recent decrease in access to essential health services, global health inequalities persist. Vulnerable populations with low levels of access to health care suffer the most as they are exposed to more health risks. Efforts to increase equitable access to health care are crucial to reducing the global health disparity. By providing health care education to rural communities, Hesperian Health Guides addresses global public health inequities in an effort to better the personal, community and environmental health of all.

– Naima Rasheed

Naima is based in New York, NY, USA and focuses on Good News, Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Inclusive and Quality Education in Ghana

Quality Education in GhanaThe Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represent a global commitment to eradicate poverty and promote peace and prosperity. SDG four focuses on quality education. It aims to ensure inclusive and equitable education for all and to foster lifelong learning opportunities. Ghana has made significant strides in its pursuit of quality education, achieving near-universal access to basic education.

Since 2000, Ghana has had a gross enrollment rate of more than 100%. It has attained gender parity in primary education, with notable, though more modest, gains in secondary education. The country has provided an effective educational environment through several policies and strategies, one of which includes its Inclusive Education (IE) policy framework.

Inclusive Education (IE) Policy Framework

Ghana’s IE policy goes beyond the concept of physical location, embodying core values that promote participation, friendship and interaction. This policy acknowledges Ghanaians’ diverse educational needs and requires all stakeholders in the education sector to address these varied needs. This policy was established to ensure the full inclusion of people with disabilities (PWD).

Ghana’s educational sector was surveyed to gauge public perception of inclusive education to measure the impact of the policy. The survey analysis revealed progress in the enrollment of children with special educational needs (SEN). Additionally, students without disabilities have become more accepting of their special needs classmates. This progress is attributed to ongoing orientation on the IE Policy, capacity-building activities related to IE practices and sensitization on inclusion and diversity at all levels.

The Free Senior High School Program

Fee removal has become a popular policy to improve access to secondary education, with Ghana being among the countries implementing this practice. The Free Senior High School (SHS) program, established in September 2017, provides new opportunities for children who previously were unable to continue their education beyond junior high school. The program is dedicated to removing cost barriers, ensuring equality and equity and expanding school infrastructure.

This initiative resulted in an 11% increase in enrolment. Before the program’s implementation, during the 2016/17 academic year, 11,336 out of 420,135 students could not enroll in senior high school due to financial constraints. After the program’s introduction in the 2017/18 academic year, this number decreased to 62,453 out of 424,224 students, indicating increased access to senior high school education.

The Secondary Education Improvement Project (SEIP)

This project was established by the World Bank in Ghana, with the Ghana Education Sector (GES) as a key development partner. The project is known as the first World Bank education initiative in Ghana and it utilizes a results-based financing strategy. It addresses limitations related to the availability and provision of educational resources and infrastructure. This is achieved by constructing new schools in districts lacking public schools. This project also addresses challenges that prevent individuals and communities from accessing education.  This is achieved through scholarships and bursaries for low-income students, particularly girls; these were adapted into bursaries following the introduction of free secondary education in 2017, covering expenses such as transportation and school supplies.

Additionally, targeted in-service training for teachers enhances the quality of science and mathematics education. At the same time, performance partnerships with schools promote increased accountability. Information and Communications Technology (ICT) solutions support learning, with beneficiary schools selected using specific criteria to ensure pro-poor targeting. This project witnessed the transition rates from lower secondary to higher secondary schools in the poorest districts. Rates rose from 39% in 2014 to 72% in 2019. Also, the construction of 21 new senior secondary schools and the rehabilitation of 125 others has substantially expanded the availability of educational spaces. This has created approximately 43,000 additional seats between 2014 and May 2020. From 2014 to 2019, at least 20,000 low-income students received scholarships/bursaries, alleviating financial barriers to education.

– Teniola Yusuf

Teniola is based in the UK and focuses on World News for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Hotel Con Corazón Has Heart for Latin America

Hotel Con CorazónHotel con Corazón opened its doors in 2008 after founders Onno Oostveen and Marcel Zuidhof agreed they wanted to impact the world. The pair decided to start their journey in Nicaragua, one of the poorest countries in Latin America.

Hotel Con Corazón’s Heartfelt Journey to Nicaragua

Oostveen and Zuidhof traveled to Nicaragua during a holiday in 2006. While there, they noted the lively potential for tourism and the lack of funding for education. By 2008, the pair had moved to Nicaragua and decided to support the local community by opening Hotel con Corazón. The pair now employs a fantastic team that supports the hotel and even employs teachers for schools.

Empowering Youths in Nicaragua, One Stay at a Time

Hotel con Corazón mission is to provide accessible education for children in need within Latin America. The World Bank has reported that 70% of 10-year-olds in Nicaragua cannot read or understand basic texts. The lack of education for children may result in a lack of earnings in the future. More than 60% of children in Nicaragua are living in educational poverty. Hotel con Corazón aims to give back the chance of a bright future for the youths of Nicaragua. It hopes that youths can stop the cycle of poverty for themselves and their families by doing this.

Since its first hotel opened to the public in Granada, Nicaragua, the hotel company has assisted 250 children annually through primary and higher levels of education. In 2024, the hotel group will have supported an estimated 4,000 children in completing their education. Hotel con Corazón invests 100% of its profits into local education. The hotel is aesthetically designed and boasts a swimming pool and a bar where guests can buy drinks and food. It also has two patios where visitors can relax and enjoy breakfast or lunch. Additionally, it provides free Wi-Fi and entertainment for guests.

Guest profits provide the hotel with funding to support extracurricular activities for youth and parental workshops. In addition to helping youth through education, Hotel con Corazón offers development and income opportunities to several Nicaraguans each year. It further supports the local economy by buying produce from the community and running a commercial business. The hotel group can support 22 employees in its Nicaraguan hotel, where it also offers development programs so that employees have access to further education for themselves or their children. The hotel has made several positive impacts on Nicaragua, supporting the country through poverty in as many ways as it can.

Outreach to Oaxaca

In 2018, the hotel group decided to expand its social impact. Therefore, it opened the first Hotel con Corazón in one of the poorest cities in Mexico. According to the World Bank, 26% of Mexican children are not enrolled in pre-primary education and only 57% of 10-year-olds can read. Oaxaca is rated the second lowest city in Mexico for its education levels. Hotel con Corazón’s Oaxaca branch continues a similar vision as it does in Nicaragua.

The company invests all profits from guest stays and purchases made in bars and its hotel shop into education at all levels in Oaxaca. The hotel supports the Oaxaca Learning Center, which runs a motivational program for 60-70 youths and funds educational costs for those who most need it. Hotel con Corazón is also partnered with Mundo de Talentos, a nonprofit organization that provides children with free occupational guidance. Mundo de Talentos originated in Chiapas, Mexico. In 2023, Hotel con Corazón funded the nonprofit to expand its reach to Oaxaca. This funding enabled the nonprofit to begin its annual program in Oaxaca with 40 students enrolled.

Additionally, Hotel con Corazón has created a learning space within Oaxaca, where young people can learn trading skills that they can use in hospitality work. It offers apprenticeships to unemployed youths who are also not in education and aims to help them find work they can enjoy. For the youths already in education, Hotel con Corazón offers apprenticeships where young people have the potential to train in its Oaxacan hotel.

The Final Resort

Hotel con Corazón has made impressive impacts in changing the lives of youths through education and supporting the countries it operates in through poverty. The hotel group’s latest mission is spreading love in Latin America. It plans to open 10 more hotels in the next 10 years. The aim is to regenerate its educational and motivational schemes for the poorest parts of Latin America that need the most help. It has already begun building three branches in Costa Rica and Mexico. By 2025, its newest branch will open for guests in Monteverde, Costa Rica.

– Raquel Smith

Raquel is based in London, UK and focuses on Business and Good News for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Hotel Con Corazón

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Working to Educate Impoverished Children in Moldova

3 Initiatives Aim to Educate Impoverished Children in MoldovaMoldova, nestled between Romania and Ukraine in Eastern Europe, faces significant challenges with more than 30% of its population living below the poverty line. Impoverished children in Moldova are particularly vulnerable, suffering from limited access to essential services and viable economic opportunities. To combat these issues, several international efforts focus on enhancing educational opportunities for these children. Initiatives by the Global Partnership for Education, Education Out Loud and the Education Quality Improvement Project aim to transform the educational landscape, providing the resources and support needed to lift Moldova’s children out of poverty through improved access to quality education.

Child Poverty in Moldova

More than 25% of Moldova’s population lives below the poverty line, with nearly one-third of this group being children. These children face numerous challenges including vulnerability to health risks from poor sanitation and inconsistent medical treatment. Additionally, despite measures to protect children, child labor remains prevalent, exposing working children to unsafe conditions and exploitation. This issue is particularly acute among minorities, such as Romani children and refugees. Furthermore, young girls face significant risks of child marriage and trafficking, with nearly one in five marrying before the age of eighteen.

Poverty significantly impacts a child’s access to education in Moldova, as unmet basic needs make education a lower priority. Humanium reports that almost one in 10 Moldovan children do not attend school, a rate that has risen recently due to the dependency of school attendance on family economic stability. The organization also notes that schools often lack necessary supplies. Additionally, the infrastructure for education is deprioritized and teachers frequently lack adequate training and credentials to provide quality education. This cycle not only stems from poverty but also perpetuates it by denying impoverished children access to education.

3 Initiatives Promoting Education

  1. Global Partnership for Education (GPE). Several initiatives, including the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), are actively working to improve Moldova’s basic education deficit. GPE’s goals are to expand access to education, ensure its relevance and develop, support and motivate teachers to provide quality education. It recognizes that proper education is crucial for enhancing children’s quality of life and preparing them for a successful future. The primary challenge in Moldova is a lack of funds. GPE has allocated a $23.5 million grant to be used through innovative financing strategies, which involve smart resource distribution. This funding encourages greater teacher involvement, enhances access to electronics and modern educational tools, establishes a more effective evaluation and monitoring system and includes educational programs for parents as well as their children.
  2. Education Out Loud. Education Out Loud, employing a budget of nearly $3,000, is similarly enhancing Moldova’s education system. This initiative, led by the Alliance of Active NGOs in the field of Child and Family Social Protection (APSCF), aims to fortify a capable and ready civil society that contributes effectively to the creation of inclusive and gender-responsive policies. A significant portion of this fund emphasizes strengthening inclusivity. It also ensures equitable access to education for impoverished children in Moldova and embraces diversity. The project supports policy development, raises awareness, fosters mentorship programs and amplifies the voices of stakeholders. Specifically, it targets advocacy efforts for children with disabilities and other minority groups.
  3. The Education Quality Improvement Project (EQIP). The EQIP project, with a budget of approximately $60 million from multiple grants, collaborates with the World Bank Group to enhance education through digitalization, increasing its resilience. It focuses on marginalized youths, including refugees and displaced Ukrainian children, aiming to provide them with equal opportunities. This goal could be realized by enhancing teacher practices, implementing a learning recovery program for disadvantaged students, improving the learning environment in targeted schools and preschools and developing institutional capacity to design, implement and evaluate education reforms and refugee response interventions.

Looking Ahead

Moldova’s commitment to enhancing educational opportunities through these initiatives sets a hopeful trajectory for its future. By prioritizing inclusive and quality education, Moldova is building a foundation that promises to lift children out of poverty and equip them with the tools necessary for long-term success. These ongoing efforts, aimed at breaking the cycle of poverty, hold the potential to transform the lives of thousands of children, ensuring a brighter and more prosperous future for the nation.

– Anna Williams

Anna is based in Burlington, VT, USA and focuses on Good News and Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Parent Education Improving Childcare in Rwanda

Childcare in RwandaChildren are among the most vulnerable, often suffering from life-threatening conditions as a result of a severe lack of economic and social resources. Consequences include malnourishment and limited learning opportunities, all related to poverty. Research has shown a link between children’s poverty and their childhood health as well as later health outcomes as adults.

Health Impact and Stunting

According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), approximately 38% of Rwandan children are stunted, meaning their cognitive, motor and language abilities are severely impaired. This is a direct result of a child’s early development in life, which plays a crucial role in determining long-term educational outcomes. Children who come from low-income households are three times as likely than those in wealthier households to experience stunting. This significant disproportion showcases poverty as playing an important role.

Home Environment and Childhood Development

The home environment and parents are significant in shaping early childhood development. According to UNICEF, only one in five parents in Rwanda engages in early childhood learning activities in the home. Children are also limited in their opportunities to attend preschool or engage in other educational learning opportunities. Malnourished children are at a higher risk of becoming stunted, limiting their learning ability in the future.

Government Action

To assist parents, UNICEF and the Rwandan government worked together to implement initiatives to improve childcare. In 2019, in collaboration with the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion, The National Parenting Curriculum was commissioned, aiming to enhance parent education and familial support.

The National Parenting Curriculum also outlines initiatives to reduce stunting and malnutrition among Rwandan children. It emphasizes the need for childhood development to begin long before school starts. The document also stresses the role of parents in helping to support children further.

Parental education can help keep children engaged and improve their quality of life to keep them sustained and out of poverty.

On-The-Ground Solutions

Extensive strategies from the Rwandan government and advocacy organizations are helping to mitigate the dangerous impact of poverty on childcare in Rwanda. One such initiative fighting on the ground is the Children of Rwanda.

Children of Rwanda is a nonprofit supporting children unable to attend school in Western Rwanda. The organization works directly with local schools to provide bursaries to children struggling with education costs. In addition, families also receive health insurance. The foundation has empowered more than 250 children to return to their local schools.

Looking Ahead

According to a policy research paper published by the World Bank examining global trends in poverty among children in international poverty lines, the extreme child poverty rate was reduced from 20.7% to approximately 16% between 2013 and 2022. This underscores the importance of government collaboration with humanitarian aid organizations in improving early childhood development and eradicating child poverty.

Recognizing the need for reform and support can help increase awareness of the dangerous effects of poverty on the well-being of children. We can prevent poverty and it all starts with supporting the children of the future.

– Dominic Samaniego

Dominic is based in Fullerton, CA, USA and focuses on Good News and Technology and Solutions, Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr