Amidst COVID-19, we created a distance learning model based on our proven in-school experience, leveraging simple, accessible technology to give youth the space to continue building essential skills for today’s economy.
In this crisis, one thing has been abundantly clear: Young people’s continued engagement with their education is more critical today than ever before. Youth need now — more than ever — to be gaining the 21st century skills that will support their resilience and recovery to this pandemic.
Distance Learning Model
To help bridge the learning gap created by school closures, we’ve created a product to remotely deliver key components of our proven in-school model — skills lessons, practical experience, and mentorship — delivered to youth directly through basic technologies, like radio, SMS, and phone calls.
We believe the key lever for creating measurable impact within this model is the mentorship and practical experience component, which is packaged for youth as an intensive “VIP Bootcamp.” The VIP Bootcamp consists of phone-based mentorship from highly-trained Educate! peer Mentors as well as guidance to start and run real business or community projects at home.
See examples of radio lessons, SMS messages, and more from our adapted model, and read about Muwonge's experience in the VIP Bootcamp
Why prioritize youth?
While COVID-19 has disrupted billions of lives, we’re acutely aware that youth are disproportionately experiencing its social and economic shocks as they’re more likely to be employed in insecure, temporary, or informal employment.
Further, many of East Africa’s youth do not have access to the remote learning opportunities now common in other regions of the world.
We know from prior crises that there are dire consequences when youth lose connection with their education. For example, evidence shows that girls’ enrollment rates have never returned to pre-outbreak levels in some Ebola-affected regions.
Greater Access & Increased Resiliency
We hope that our distance learning model will result in more youth returning to school in the aftermath of the crisis, and more youth developing the skills and receiving the information, tools, and support they need to be resilient and successful.
The distance learning experience we’ve developed and the tools we’ve adopted will help us reach more youth at a lower cost, ultimately strengthening our long-term impact and sustainability.
We’ve designed a remote learning model with flexibility baked in, to accommodate unknown school reopening timelines, local variation in lockdown policies and government regulations, and the likelihood of start-and-stop reopening. As a result, our easily adaptable distance learning model is designed to fully integrate with our in-school model once safe and feasible, to support greater access, engagement, and sustainability.
Ultimately, the outcomes we have targeted for over a decade remain the same: to equip youth with the skills to attain further education, overcome gender inequities, start businesses, get jobs, and drive development in their communities. Our distance learning experience seeks to be the bridge for youth between the COVID-19 crisis and these life outcomes.