buildOn & EAA’s EAC Program to Enroll 159,000 Out-of-School Children
We are excited to announce we are enhancing our partnership with the Education Above All (EAA) Foundation’s Educate A Child (EAC) Program to bring access to quality education to over 159,000 children who are currently out of school. Read on to learn more about this momentous growth in collaboration!
We are overjoyed to announce that we are enhancing our partnership with Educate A Child (EAC) to enroll 159,211 currently out-of-school children in primary education!
To make the Enroll OOSC Project: Break the Cycle of Poverty happen, buildOn and EAC aim to construct 1,873 primary schools in seven countries over the next six years. As always, these schools will be built in partnership with – not for – rural communities and local ministries of education. We estimate that 224,760 local community members will take an active role in bringing out-of-school children to the classroom. Other key project strategies will include: sensitization and capacity building with community members, leaders, teachers, government officials, and students; Accelerating Education Programs and direct support to out-of-school children; and community income-generating initiatives.
EAA believes in the value of education for all. Supporting the hardest to reach children in overcoming barriers and providing them with opportunities to access a quality primary education is our first priority. Ensuring education for children in the most impoverished countries can provide them with the tools they need to build a better future, for themselves, their families, communities and nations.
EAC Executive Director Mary Joy Pigozzi, Ph.D
buildOn first partnered with EAA’s EAC program in 2015 on a five-year project that launched and scaled buildOn’s Enroll Program, supported the construction of 1,005 primary schools, and provided quality primary education for 55,480 out-of-school children in six developing countries.
Over the past five years, EAA’s EAC program has been an integral partner in our mission to break the cycle of poverty, illiteracy, and low expectations. This continued partnership with EAC will empower buildOn to significantly scale our school construction and education programs. It will not only transform our organization, it will transform the lives of more than 159,000 children and generations to follow!
buildOn Founder & CEO Jim Ziolkowski
Across the world, children face a variety of barriers that prevent them from realizing their right to a quality primary education. This collaborative initiative between buildOn and EAC will aim to address these challenges in some of the most vulnerable regions of Burkina Faso, Guatemala, Haiti, Malawi, Mali, Nepal, and Senegal. Below are a few examples of students we have been able to re-enroll thanks to the previous project between buildOn and EAA’s EAC program.
Thierno from Senegal
Thierno’s parents enrolled him in school at the age of seven. However, before finishing the first grade, he dropped out to become a shepherd, following a tradition for the youngest boy in the family. However, after his village partnered with buildOn and EAA’s EAC program to construct a school, it reignited his dream of education, and he began attending buildOn’s Accelerated Education Program. Thierno then completed primary school at the top of his class and was later given an award by the mayor for being one of the best students in the entire municipality. Theirno is still enrolled in school and now dreams of giving back to his community by becoming a teacher.
Puja from Nepal
When Puja of Nepal was in the first grade, her father tragically died. Without his support and income, her mother removed her from school. But after the construction of their new school, the community leaders mobilized a door-to-door campaign to make sure all children were enrolled. This is when they discovered that Puja had dropped out. To increase the chance of Puja re-enrolling, the community introduced her mother to an opportunity to receive a small loan from buildOn’s income-generating fund. With this small loan, she became a tailor and is now earning enough to support her family as Puja attends classes.
Khadia from Mali
Khadia of Sagouana, Mali, dropped out of school after catching a severe, life-threatening sickness that her family believed came about because of the poor conditions in the previous school – the classrooms were poorly built and it was freezing during the cold season. After Khadia’s community partnered with buildOn and EAA’s EAC program to build a new school, her interest in education was reignited, and she asked her parents if she could re-enroll. Kadia now attends classes and says, “In the future, I want to become a famous teacher and role model for girls.”
Thank you to the Education Above All Foundation’s Educate A Child program for this extraordinary partnership. Together, we are going to enroll more children like Thierno, Puja, and Khadia, and help foster quality education that is inclusive, equitable, and life-changing.