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Region: Sub-Saharan Africa

U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit: How can the U.S. contribute to Africa’s development?

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Posted December 5, 2022 .
By Semere Solomon .
4 min read.

President Biden is hosting the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in mid-December to demonstrate the United States’ enduring commitment to Africa, underscoring the importance of U.S.-Africa relations and increased cooperation on shared global priorities.  

“Africa will shape the future — not just the future of the African people, but of the world. Africa will make the difference in tackling the most urgent challenges and seizing the opportunities we all face,” said the State Department in its event announcement. 

 Africa has gone through major social, economic and political transformations in the last 25 years. These changes are accentuated by rapid demographic shifts, globalization, the emergence of new technologies and networks and the rising expectations of a predominantly young population. 

As leaders from across Africa join President Biden in Washington, it worth considering how development factors into the shared goals the summit will explore. 

The role of the U.S. in Africa’s sustained growth and development 

This summit is an opportunity to embrace partnership. Partnership is not about being domineering or dictating terms because you are in control of resources. It is about working together in the spirit of equality, mutual respect and reciprocity. I hope the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit will use this as its main tenet. 

The U.S. Agency for International Development’s recent policy on localization is a step in the right direction. Locally led development allows local actors to frame their developmental agendas, develop solutions, and bring the capacity, leadership, and resources to make those solutions a sustainable reality. 

Ideally, the U.S. Administration could take this to the next level of partnership by fostering new economic engagement and advancing good governance to hold governments accountable of their own development aspirations. 

Africa’s development hinges upon the strength and robustness of the private sector. Africa can graduate from aid recipient to global player through mutually beneficial commercial partnerships. Powerful economies like the U.S. can promote attractive investment ventures in Africa and host governments can create a favorable environment for investment partnership.

Women working in a clothing shop / tailor. Market. Tamale, Ghana.

Africa’s assets for rapid growth  

Africa is at an exciting point in its development, and it is full of assets that provide fertile ground for rapid growth. 

The continent is rich in natural resources and has a young, vibrant population. The continent has seen expanded internet access, affordable mobile connections and the growing use of social media. Mobility across the globe and increased inclusion in international finance have provided opportunities for exposure and learning exchanges.  

African people are increasingly participating in the growth agenda through an emerging vibrant civic society and other non-state organizations. African governments are no longer the sole actors in framing the development agenda.  

NGOs, the business community, civic societies, religious institutions, individual champions of peace, philanthropic organizations, renowned leaders in the art and music communities, and academic and research institutions, among others, have made themselves heard and have seen their ideas put into action.  

Challenges for Africa’s growth 

While Africa is well-poised for growth, there are still barriers to the region achieving its full potential.  

The continent faces rising and extreme economic disparity. Authoritarian regimes stand in the way of progress. Fragile states, those experiencing ongoing conflict and those in post-conflict situations continue to demand attention across the region and challenge the development agenda.  

The threat of religious extremism worsens by the day. Residents of Nigeria, Somalia, Chad, Central African Republic and Mozambique face daily disruptions to their lives. In some cases, these situations are developing into humanitarian crises characterized by loss of life and livelihood and a breakdown of social fabric and community support systems.  

Despite these challenges, the resilience and ingenuity of African people gives me hope that the continent will see more growth and prosperity. 

Hassan Ali, 13 years old, attend class at a school in in Baidoa, Somalia.
Credit: Ismail Taxta

U.S.-Africa partnership in action 

The U.S. Agency for International Development is supporting Africa’s development through economic programs. The Creative-implemented West Africa Trade and Investment Hub (WATIH) project, for example, seeks to improve private sector competition in West Africa. 

By working in partnership with the private sector and fostering co-investments through our Co-Investment Fund, the Trade Hub generates new private-sector capital investment in key sectors to create jobs and increase trade between the United States and West Africa. 

Africa will indeed shape the future, and the partnerships we build now will help it be a prosperous future for all. 

Semere Solomon is the Senior Director of the Growth Strategy Department at Creative Associates International.

Fonio: An ancient grain at the center of women’s economic inclusion

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Posted December 5, 2022 .
By Akua Mensah .
4 min read.

Two key phenomena intersect in the rural areas of the north – both of which are detrimental to women.

Nearly 35 percent of land in Ghana is under threat of desertification, with much of it located in the north. As households in these areas depend heavily on agriculture for their livelihoods, desertification and degradation pose real threats to financial stability and food security. Meanwhile, patriarchal customs deny women land ownership. Land inheritance is patrilineal—men own land, while women can only work on it.  

Together, they restrict women’s access to agricultural production, food security and income generation. AMAATI Co. Ltd., led by CEO Salma Abdulai, set out to address the issue of women’s marginalization through empowering women who do not own land in northern Ghana.

“Our approach is a deliberate attempt to respond to the unique needs of rural women to advance sustainable development for themselves and their communities by addressing their limited rights to land, credit and natural resources that compromise their income and food security,” says CEO Abdulai.

Established in 2014, AMAATI also pioneered the revival of the cultivation of fonio, a drought-resistant crop that also regenerates degraded soil. “AMAATI addresses women’s marginalization by facilitating access to abandoned marginal lands through their community leaders, supporting them to cultivate fonio on these poor soils for food and income,” she adds.

Through USAID/Ghana, the West Africa Trade & Investment Hub awarded AMAATI a $742,000 co-investment grant to develop a 1,000-acre nucleus farm in Mion District in the Northern Region and to support 6,000 women farmers to produce fonio. The Trade Hub’s grant also helps the company to secure $4.5 million in private investments to modernize the factory and generate $4.6 million in exports to the United States and Europe.  

With operations primarily in Chereponi, a USAID Zone of Influence in the North East Region, AMAATI negotiates with local chiefs to lease abandoned or degraded land to the company’s name. The company registers and trains women farmers, who are then allotted plots to cultivate fonio.

USAID Trade & Investment Hub grantee AMAATI Co. in Ghana, processing fonio. Photo by AMAATI.

Prior to AMAATI’s program, these women would typically have only been given one or two acres of their fathers’ or husbands’ farms on which to cultivate subsistence crops. With AMAATI’s intervention, they can lay claim to an additional one to three acres on which to cultivate a burgeoning export crop. 

To protect their incomes, AMAATI pre-finances the farmers’ seeds and ensures a buy-back of 80 percent of the fonio produced, while encouraging them to retain 20 percent for their own households. This buy-back arrangement guarantees year-round financial stability and food security for these female farmers.

Additionally, as fonio has become more of a household staple as the crop’s acceptance grows in the region, many of the women’s husbands have also begun cultivating fonio on their own farms.  

From its inception, AMAATI has put the welfare of women at the forefront of its operations. Co-founded and led by a female CEO, the company ensures that women are represented in leadership throughout the organization. Today, 75 percent of AMAATI’s workforce (factory and administrative) is made up of women, and female farmers comprise approximately 80 percent of their outgrowers.

“We create dignified and sustainable livelihoods for women, both at the factory (women processes) and on the field (women farmers), to reduce their social and economic power inequalities and compensate them for living up to their social responsibilities,” she says.

To date, AMAATI has successfully onboarded 5,508 women farmers (91 percent of their target) to the fonio outgrower program.  The women farmers use their proceeds from their buy-back agreement with AMAATI to repair their homes, set up small businesses, plant other crops or selling provisions, and even to save towards paying for their personal tertiary education fees.

In the future, AMAATI seeks to encourage more of their outgrowers to open bank accounts and plans to work with financial institutions to establish arrangements for the farmers to repay future loans on a schedule that coincides with their fonio sales. This would allow their women farmers more financial independence and the capacity to fully participate in the local economy.  

AMAATI’s work in providing a pathway to economic inclusion for women is invaluable in the bid to support women in the smallholder agricultural economy. Given access to the necessary resources, women would be able to substantially reduce the nation’s food insecurity and import dependence, as AMAATI successfully demonstrates. Working with women who are disenfranchised from land ownership, on plots that would otherwise be abandoned, AMAATI is not only restoring agricultural land, but also the livelihoods of these women and their families.

Equally important to social inclusion and the growth of household income are the production results. “We have also increased our production capacity to 3.5 tons/day from 500kg/day, and we hope to upgrade to 10 tons/day by April 2023,” says CEO Abdulai.

Akua Mensah is a West Africa Trade & Investment Hub Communication Specialist.

How Development Alliance members view this MENA initiative

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Posted December 2, 2022 .
1 min read.

Five companies have formed a strategic alliance to address economic, social and educational challenges facing communities in the Middle East and North Africa region.

The new Development Alliance (“Dev-Alliance”) in the MENA region leverages talents, skills, cultural knowledge and geographic expertise of the local companies – including three in Jordan and one in Palestine – and Creative Associates International to improve locally conceived, designed and led programs.

The Dev-Alliance members in the MENA region include Edvise ME, ConsultUS, Amawi Takrouri & Associates (ATA) and Core Associates, as well as Creative Associates International. When mutually beneficial, Alliance members will collaborate to design and submit proposals to bilateral and multilateral donors.

Somalia Teachers Day

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Posted November 16, 2022 .
4 min read.

Celebrating the unsung heroes shaping the paths of Somalia’s best and brightest

Being a teacher is more than being the person who stands at the front of a classroom. Somali teachers bring learning to life, advocate for education, keep their students safe, and much more. From academics to journalists and activists, these five Somalis discuss how teachers impacted their lives in celebration of Somalia Teachers Day on November 21.

Hussein Sabrie — Inspired by Strong Character

Freelance Storyteller at BBC Somalia and Communications Director at Somali Research and Education Network

“My favorite Professor of all time was my computer networking course professor, Engineer Mohamud Jimale, the former President of Jamhuriya University. He was different from any other lecturer who taught me. Although I forget most of the specific lessons, I still remember his humanity, honesty, and integrity. He was humble, punctual, ever smiling, and respectful to the students. He was a role model of kindness and compassion. He always encouraged us to give charity and be kind to needy people. I will never forget his kind words and the interesting moral stories he used to tell us when he felt we were bored. I remember how he used to mentor us and his willingness to win our hearts and change our attitudes all the time.  He had a lot of teaching experience and would often give us real-life examples to train us “on-the-job”.  Some debts are difficult to repay. I will always be indebted to my beloved Professor, Mohamud Ahmed Jimale for all he taught me.”

Bahja Ali Shuriye — Inspired to Believe in Herself

Lecturer and Head of Women Enterprises Development at SIMAD Innovation iLab

“My favorite teacher was Mr. Abdikadir, who taught me math in Grade 6. Mr. Abdikadir used to encourage us to compete in solving difficult mathematical calculations in our grade for a cash prize. It motivated me to take on the challenge of quickly solving my math exercises. To receive the award, we had to answer all exercise questions correctly. Every Wednesday, I would answer the questions correctly and win 1,000 shillings ($1.75) from Mr. Abdikadir, which I would spend on sambusa and ice-cream. I was the only one who received that award on a weekly basis, which made me feel happy. I quickly mastered multiplication tables, and Mr. Abdikadir asked me to help others as his assistant. I have always enjoyed mathematics and even aspired to be a mathematician. Mr. Abdikadir encouraged me to stay focused on my schoolwork. Above all, he inspired me to believe in my younger self!”

Abdifatah Hassan Ali — Inspired to Learn English

Blogger, Human Rights Activist, Co-Founder of Digital Shelter

“My favorite schoolteacher was Ustad Shaafici Abdiaziz, our English teacher and football coach. He’s the reason why I learned the language and we liked him because of the extracurricular activities he used to organize for us on Wednesdays.”

Farhia Dini — Inspired to be Considerate and Disciplined

Studying MSc in Economic Development at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in Japan

“I respect and admire all my teachers, but my favorite teacher is Mr. Abdibasid, who taught me in Grade 4. I remember I was a naughty little child. We used to play and speak inside the class during the session, which of course, irritated my teacher.  One day, Mr. Abdibasid gave us a test on which I performed well but received only two marks out of 10! I was upset and went to ask about my mistakes. Mr. Abdibasid replied that although I had gotten a good grade, he decided to deduct points from me because despite my brilliance and efforts, I had bad manners. He told me how “knowledge is nothing without good manners”. That message struck home. From that day, I always sat at the front of the class and behaved well. I not only appreciate the lessons he taught me but the discipline he instilled as well.”

Leyla Mohamed — Inspired to Become a journalist

Journalist and Editor at Radio Ergo, Member of Global Shapers – Mogadishu Hub

“My favorite teacher was Mr. Farah. He taught me Somali in sixth grade. I was good at writing and vocabulary, and Mr. Farah used to encourage me to continue to improve my writing and read Somali texts. After finishing high school, I studied journalism at college. Our assignments required us to present weekly news by reading and synthesizing different papers and articles. My classmates found it difficult, but not me. I was not afraid because I had practice with analyzing and writing, thanks to Mr. Farah.  Later, I wanted to join a radio station. They wanted to hire someone with excellent Somali reading and writing skills. Nearly 10 people, including me, were tested. Some people tried to discourage me because I was one of the youngest applicants. To everyone’s surprise, another lady and I got the job! I would not have come this far if it wasn’t for my teacher. He encouraged me to always do better and as a result, I have been able to achieve so much. Now, I work to improve Somali writing and help colleagues and others script high quality reports.”

Teachers Going Above and Beyond

In addition to working as public school teachers, some educators in Somalia take on extra work to help out-of-school children and youth catch up through the Bar ama Baro accelerated education program.

Bar ama Baro recruited and trained more than 25,000 accelerated basic education teachers and headteachers to provide quality education to over 100,000 students in 32 districts in Banadir, Hirshabelle, Southwest and Jubaland. The program provides ongoing support in the classroom and believes that supporting teachers with training, textbooks teacher guides and teaching and learning materials will have a positive impact on students learning outcomes.

Bar ama Baro is funded by the United States Agency for International Development in partnership with Somalia’s Ministry of Education, Culture, and Higher Education.

Peacebuilding in four Ugandan communities to find common ground & myths

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Posted October 20, 2022 .
By Dean Piedmont .
3 min read.

After a four-hour drive from the Ugandan capital, we arrived at the Greater Masaka Region along beautiful Lake Victoria. Though picturesque, our purpose was far from tourism.  

We joined about 40 community members who gathered to continue their efforts to learn and better understand the drivers of violent extremism. I was impressed that most were women. While each member spoke passionately about the need for social cohesion and how to identify the triggers of violent extremism, I was stunned when I heard a few comments. 

“Is it true that Muslims want to kill Christians?” one woman asked of another participant. “No,” he responded to her question. “We want to live peacefully together – just like you.” 

Though the community members had been peacefully and productively working together during the past year to improve their knowledge and understanding of violent extremism, as individuals they continued to hold on to myths and disinformation about each other. The same myths that allow violent extremists to exploit misperceptions and perceived grievances, the same misunderstanding that allows them to move in communities, often, undetected.

A Summary Report

Does this mean that these training sessions were a failure? No. The community members volunteered to be part of these meetings, and their participation was civilized and demonstrated respect for each other. It does point to the fact that countering violent extremism is not a short-term endeavor. Challenges like these are never easy fixes, they denote the need to be locally led and require local-level investments. 

The goals of my trip during the spring of 2022 to the communities of Mpigi, Masaka, Kalungu and Lwengo was to observe and analyze field activities as a follow up to a study on violent extremism conducted by our sister organization, the non-profit Creative Learning.

Contracted by the U.S. State Department in October 2020, Creative Learning looked at the two-year, two-phase project called Strengthening Resilience Against Extremism, which is part of a series of seven community based pilot in four districts in Greater Masaka. Creative Learning’s study included 95 interviews with key informants, including 18 who were members of the Allied Democratic Forces, considered a terrorist organization by Uganda’s government. Seventy-seven interviewees have knowledge of violent extremism, e.g., have an affiliation or family member directly impacted by it.  

Creative Learning observed that, while knowledge of violent extremism has increased, the level of knowledge is uneven. In Lwengo, for example, community dialogue participants understand violent extremism, including the drivers, its definition and impact. Many were able to describe personal experiences. In the remaining districts, the dialogue participants still debate their grievances with the government.  

As I observed the community dialogues in the spring, it became clear that security forces stifle dialogue, turning these forums into lectures that are not appreciated by attendees. Families of former members of the Allied Democratic Forces are dubbed ‘permanent suspects’ by the government. When a security incident occurs, these family members are the first to be questioned by authorities. This stigma is problematic – but it can be reversed. 

Heavy-handed tactics by authorities, coupled with the ongoing misconceptions that neighbors have of each other, are the type of issues violent extremist organizations can and will exploit. In addition, our study is rich with details about awareness of violent extremism and how these armed groups operate, including their recruitment of women and children, integrating themselves into the local economy and more. These are all areas that are ripe for improvement as community members are eager to participate. 

The project includes seven pilot micro-projects all allocated to local actors, and all addressing community identify P/CVE needs in their respective districts. These have demonstrated increasing awareness of the violent extremist problem in the Greater Masaka Region – a necessary first step for effective P/CVE.

Dean Piedmont is Creative Associates International’s Senior Advisor for Armed Group and Reintegration issues.

Unpacking USAID’s New Dekleptification Guide

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Posted October 12, 2022 .
By Verónica Garza .
5 min read.

USAID Administrator Samantha Power called out corrupt officials in kleptocratic governments as one of the major obstacles to social, political and economic growth.  

“We must shine a light on the dark corners where corruption thrives and oligarchs hide their stolen wealth,” she said June 7. “This new reality requires USAID to transform its anti-corruption work to be savvier and be less siloed by country. We are building coalitions of reformers across borders, sectors and ideologies.” 

Speaking during the June 7 announcement of USAID’s “Dekleptification” Guide: Seizing Windows of Opportunity to Dismantle Kleptocracy, the Administrator said it is part of efforts to “reinvent the playbook” to strengthen global democracy. The guide builds on the Presidential Initiative for Democratic Renewal and USAID’s Anti-corruption Task Force efforts. 

The guide defines dekleptification as “the process of dismantling entrenched kleptocratic structures, networks, and norms—and replacing them with governing institutions that deliver transparency, accountability, and inclusion—during historic windows of overwhelming popular demand for reform or transition.”  

Drawing on lessons from previous reform efforts, USAID provides a forceful framework to maximize the potential of windows of opportunity to help countries uproot kleptocracy, implement reforms, and build resilience to corruption. With the ultimate objective of converting open windows into virtuous circles of transparency, accountability and inclusion, the framework requires demand from broad segments of society that insist on fundamental reforms to the country’s social contract, with less tolerance for kleptocracy. 

Here are five key takeaways from this new resource: 

Maximize windows of opportunity 

Windows of opportunity present a unique political moment during which increased attention to anti-corruption can make reform more likely, such as mass protests or record voter turnout. When windows open, reformist governments must act quickly to start delivering results and institutionalizing transparency and accountability. Unfortunately, windows can often be short-lived and underdeveloped. Perceived lack of progress, failure to seize opportunities, and corrupt elements can undermine the anti-corruption reform movement and cause windows to suddenly close.  

USAID provides 11 key tactical lessons learned during previous windows to help missions rapidly mobilize the right kind of assistance so reformers can deliver results immediately and in a sustainable way. These key lessons include working with the new government to start showing the public results quickly, supporting a proactive communications strategy, and combining the delivery of systemic reforms, impartial justice, and inclusive growth. This aligns with Creative’s experience working in conflict and transition spaces where building visibility and trust with new reform-oriented governments is critical to consolidating democratic gains.  

Support radically transparent and aggressively accountable systems 

Learning from Ukraine’s 2014 Revolution of Dignity and other Eastern Europe reformers, USAID proposes a three-part dekleptification strategy: First publicly disclose as much digital information on ownership and state expenditure as possible; second position civil society and independent enforcement agencies to use the data to investigate and hold corrupt actors accountable; and third deliver broad-based economic growth.  

The Ukraine case study underscores the need for innovative and radically transparent mechanisms and independent institutions that expand the degree to which the government collects and makes public electronic data. Through ownership registries, asset declarations, politically exposed persons (PEP) databases, digitization of state services, and other mechanisms, Ukraine’s sweeping approach enabled the space for corruption to shrink, despite efforts from corrupt elements to undermine the dekleptification process. Ukraine drew from Romania’s experience and prioritized the establishment of politically independent agencies to investigate, prosecute, and rule on cases of high-level corruption.  

More importantly, Ukraine established a network of capable partners, including NGOs and U.S. implementers, to safeguard the independence of these new anti-corruption institutions. Though the war has halted anti-corruption progress in Ukraine and exacerbated the transparency and accountability vulnerabilities, the case study highlights how recovery and reconstruction efforts will benefit from the strong foundation of anti-corruption institutions that the country has built during the past eight years.  

Meanwhile, Creative’s work in Guatemala and elsewhere to strengthen both institutions of accountability and civil society reinforces this key dynamic.  

Think and work politically 

Deviating from a technocratic approach, the guide reminds missions and implementing partners the importance of recognizing the political nature of corruption and employing an evidence-based approach to anti-corruption programming. Defined as a constant need through all phases of dekleptification, political economy analysis should focus on the most corrupt actors and behaviors in the country, as opposed to concentrating on the technical details of and gaps in a country’s formal institutions.  

Analysis that identifies corrupt activity, actors, and syndromes; maps kleptocratic networks and reform coalitions; and identifies and prioritizes policy reforms can enable a deeper understanding of prospects for major reforms and inform well-targeted assistance when a window opens. Creative’s efforts to integrate thinking and working politically, including in Somalia, Nigeria, Latin America and the Caribbean, recognize that actors, networks and norms comprise the behavior of individuals and institutions, and must be well understood to navigate openings and roadblocks for development impact.  

Engage non-traditional reformers 

Reform coalitions should leverage reformers outside traditional anti-corruption actors and include broad constituencies like youth, labor, creative industries, and social movements that can offer the greatest potential to mobilize citizens against anti-corruption and drive sustained change. Compared to NGOs in the capital city, non-traditional groups tend to enjoy deeper support and may have more civic space in which to operate. Before a window opens, efforts should focus on building connections and trust with these key anticorruption constituencies to understand how communities face corruption in their daily lives.  

Investing in these connections will support responsive dekleptification programming that addresses local needs and secures deep-seated domestic buy-in. Our programs in West Africa illustrate this point well, drawing on local traditional leaders and youth to support reforms.  

Protect civil society and anti-corruption advocates 

An essential component addressed throughout the guidance is the protection, support of, and investment in civil society. Acting as watchdogs, investigative journalists, anti-corruption advocates, and social coalitions, civil society is vital in exposing corruption, mobilizing “people power”, and pushing for lasting changes. Shrinking civic space and repression of dissent make it crucial to provide actors who expose corruption with swift and immediate support.  

USAID emphasizes protective services, including digital, physical, legal, and psychosocial support programs such as the State Department’s Journalism Protection Platform and USAID’s Reporter’s Mutual. Implementers must link with such efforts to protect defenders and ensure duty of care for partners, particularly when tackling entrenched and politically sensitive areas like corruption.  

The guide represents a bold endeavor to modernize how missions, partners and implementers engage in anti-corruption work and meet the current strategic context in which kleptocracies operate. It’s an important step forward to evolve the methods we use to combat corruption and support the needs of reformers and citizens alike.

Verónica Garza is a Senior Program Specialist in Creative Associates International’s Communities in Transition Division.

Educate a girl, educate a community

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Posted October 10, 2022 .
By Alinor Osman .
3 min read.

Nadifa Mohamed, 35, is a midwife in Balcad District. She plays an intimate role in her community, and her work with children does not end at infancy. Nadifa has always been an advocate for girls’ education, a commitment she learned from her mother. 

Nadifa Mohammed

“Girls’ education was not encouraged when I was growing up,” says Nadifa. “My parents were even convinced to take me out of school once due to immense pressure from our community.” Nadifa’s mother, however, insisted that she get back in the classroom.

“My mother stood up for me when everyone, including my father, told me to stop going to school and stay at home to help with the household instead,” Nadifa recalls.

Insecurity, drought and economic barriers contribute to roughly 3 million students being out of school in Somalia. Accessing education is particularly difficult for girls. According to the U.S. Agency for International Development, “only 25 percent of primary school-aged girls are attending formal schools, [and] 65 percent of young women aged 20 to 24 have not attended school at all or only have some primary education.”

Nadifa eventually became the first woman in her family to complete university. Now, as a mother of five daughters, she works to pass her conviction in education to the next generation. 

“My daughters were enrolled in school at a young age because I wanted them to understand the value of education early on. I want them to excel at their studies and aspire for whatever profession suits them,” she says. 

In addition to working as a midwife, Nadifa also supports relief efforts organized by Red Crescent and Hano Academyand serves as a Community Education Committee (CEC) member with Bar ama Baro. 

Bar ama Baro is a USAID-funded accelerated education program implemented in partnership with Somalia’s Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education. The program provides an opportunity for out-of-school children and youth ages 9 to 17 to complete eight years of schooling in four years to gain a basic education and a government certificate. 

Bar Ama Baro is implemented in 32 districts across Banadir, Hirshabelle, Southwest and Jubaland states. It reaches more than 107,000 students in 3,000 communities and schools. 

The Community Education Committees bring together parents, teachers and community members to enroll students, promote education, mobilize the community, and manage school matters like the safety of buildings, the provision of books, and access to water. 

A female student skipping with a jump-rope infront of her classmates at Moalin Jama School in Mogadishu

Nadifa has served as a Community Education Committee member for three years and has worked to increase equitable access to quality education. Before the school term begins, she goes door-to-door around the community to encourage parents to send their children to school. 

“I tell parents, especially the mothers, not to confine their daughters to domestic chores because girls belong in classrooms,” she explains.

Despite ongoing financial and security constraints, Nadifa has seen a change in community attitudes about girls’ education and parents are providing more equal support to their sons and daughters. 

“This inspires and encourages me to continue raising awareness about the importance of girls’ education. Educating a girl is like educating the whole community.”

IDP teachers support IDP students in northern Ethiopia

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Posted October 4, 2022 .
By Berihun Ali .
4 min read.

Haftu Beze, a mathematics teacher in the Raya Bala District, thought he may never instruct students again. Living in the one of the disputed areas between the Amhara and Tigray regions, the young teacher fled his home and classroom when fierce fighting erupted between the government forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, also known as the TPLF.

Today, Haftu is one of the 25,000 internally displaced persons living in a camp in the North Wollo District of the Amhara region. He is among the millions displaced by the conflict in Afar, Tigray and Amhara regions.

Haftu teaching at a temporary learning center, Jara IDP Camp, North Wollo.

“After we were displaced and settled in the IDP camp, my fellow teacher colleagues and I were thinking about how we could provide support to students affected by this conflict,” Haftu recalls.

The U.S. Agency for International Development-funded READ II Program, which is implemented by Creative Associates International with its core partner World Vision, established temporary learning centers for primary school students at Jara IDP camp.

When the program sought qualified and experienced instructors, Haftu and many other displaced teachers eagerly volunteered.

“When READ II came up with the idea of establishing a temporary learning center for IDP students, we didn’t think twice though we know we will not be paid,” he says.

READ II established the temporary learning centers in tents and outfitted them with basic material, such as desks, blackboards and chalk. The project also provided students with scholastic materials, such as exercise books, pencils and pens, snacks and dignity kits for adolescent girls. The program also donated recreational items, including footballs and volleyballs.

Besides the material support, USAID READ II provided training on psychological first aid, social-emotional learning and psychosocial support for teachers and temporary learning center administrators so that they can support students and communities affected by the conflict.

Wodajo teaches at the temporary learning center and grateful for the support of READ II.

“The training was eye-opening and life-changing,” Haftu says. “It has transformed our roles as teachers not only to teach but also support and encourage students and our community using the new skills we get from the training.”

The training supports teachers and educators to calm themselves, understand the situation students and their communities have been through and provide the necessary support.

“The traumatic experience of the conflict has affected not only students but the whole community including teachers,” Haftu says. “The training has played an important role in getting over those traumatic experiences – first to ourselves and then provide support to students and the communities.”

Despite Haftu’s prior teaching experience, instructing displaced students is much different than his previous classroom work.

“It is very difficult to manage students in an IDP camp,” Haftu says. “But the training we were provided gave us the understanding and skills of how we can support these traumatized children.”

A total of 62 teachers and IDP coordinators in Jara IDP camp have received the training. Overall, USAID READ II has provided similar training to more than 2,496 teachers and 1,246 school administrators cascading the training at school and community levels reaching 338,000 students in 693 schools in conflict-affected Amhara and Afar regions.

Wodajo Admasu, an experienced Amharic teacher displaced from Raya Alamata, also volunteered his services in the Jara IDP camp and went through the special training, which he says changed the way he assumes his responsibilities and his approach to educating and supporting students.

Students at the temporary learning center and grateful for the support of READ II.

“Based on the training, we now try to prepare lessons that are more participatory, engaging and entertaining to students,” says Wodajo. “Our relationship with our students and their parents is remarkably changed as we not only teach subject matters in the classrooms but try to understand their feelings and problems and help them to solve those problems.

Wodajo says READ II has been supporting the temporary learning center by furnishing them with students’ desks, and chalk as well as providing scholastic and recreational materials for students.

“But the skills we get are life-changing not only in our profession to help students who need psychological and emotional support but for our lives as human beings,” Wodajo says. “They are transformational.”

After the training, Wodajo says, the teacher’s role has remarkably changed in that we support and understand students.

“We are more supportive and appreciative of students than controlling and directing them to do tasks,” He says. “I have observed that there are changes in students too as they are more engaged and actively participate in activities.

A teacher’s work is never done: A day in the life of a Somali teacher

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Posted October 3, 2022 .
By Ashley Williams .
4 min read.

The role of an educator goes far beyond teaching standard school subjects. In addition to being experts on topics like literacy and numeracy, they also teach children social and emotional skills, create a safe place for them to learn and grow, support extracurricular activities, and much more.

Somali teachers take on even more roles to support their students since decades of conflict, drought and displacement have left their country with a fragile education system.

Khali Mohamed is one of many teachers trained by BAB, now she is in the class and teaches class one student about Somali language at a Kulmis Zone school in Sanca district, Mogadishu.

Bar ama Baro — a USAID-funded project in collaboration with Somalia’s Ministry of Education, Culture, and Higher Education — provides free, accelerated basic education so that out-of-school children have a chance to catch up. A typical Bar ama Baro teacher’s day looks something like this.

5 a.m.

Before Aisha’s workday begins, she starts her day with the morning prayers. Aisha prepares breakfast for her family and gets her children ready for school. As she goes through her morning routine, she is already thinking about the lessons she will teach and how she can make them engaging for her students.

6:30 a.m.

Aisha has a full day ahead of her. Like most Bar ama Baro educators, she teaches in public school for the first half of the day. After her public school students go home, the Bar ama Baro students arrive for their lessons.

The first shift of classes begins at 8 a.m., but since student assembly starts at 7:30 a.m., she makes her way to work bright and early.

On her way to school, she comes across Ahmed, a member of the local community education committee (CEC). The CEC brings together parents, teachers, and community members to promote education and support the students and school. She and Ahmed discuss an unsafe classroom that needs to be repaired and a few out-of-school children whom they hope to enroll within the coming month.  

“Teachers and community members work together on a regular basis to ensure the safety of students inside and outside of school. Community members also help us a lot when it comes to retention and preventing students from dropping out. We resolve conflicts and any other issues affecting the school together.” –Abukar Abdikadir, Bar ama Baro teacher in Barawe.

Noon

After the morning classes, Aisha goes home to make lunch for her children and some extended family members who live nearby. She walks part of the way with her fellow teachers, and Aisha mentions that she tried out a new reading activity that she learned in her Bar ama Baro training. The kids loved it! Her colleagues say they will have to try it in their own classes soon.

The Bar ama Baro program supports teacher learning circles in which teachers discuss their techniques and collaborate on issues they have been experiencing in the classroom. Even outside of the formal program, teachers share with each other to support their ongoing professional development.

“We share and exchange experiences during the teacher learning circles. In our last session, we discussed a lot about lesson planning, classroom management, and positive discipline, which really improved my teaching methods over the last year.” –Abdi Abdullahi, Bar ama Baro teacher in Mogadishu.

1:30 p.m.

After lunch, Aisha goes back to school to teach the Bar ama Baro Accelerated Basic Education (ABE) students. The ABE program condenses eight years of schooling into four so that students have the opportunity to reintegrate into the formal school system or earn a government-recognized certificate.

In Somalia, where nearly 3 million people are internally displaced, many children have dropped out of school or were never able to begin. Aisha’s students have many different ability levels, and some are also dealing with the trauma of conflict and displacement.

The social and emotional learning skills – known locally as Learning and Life Competencies – she was trained on by Bar ama Baro have helped her provide a safe, stable environment for her students and teach them how to process their feelings.

 “Social-emotional learning (SEL) is an important approach that helps me a lot when it comes to the welfare of my students. It allows me to understand my students better. I notice when they are facing personal challenges, and I can intervene to make sure they are well and ready to learn.” –Hodan Osman, Bar ama Baro teacher in Walaweyn.

4:30 p.m.

Another busy school day has flown by. Aisha stays on after school to facilitate the girls’ club, where they discuss a range of topics such as the importance of education for girls, challenges girls encounter both inside and outside of the schools, and how girls can support each other to report any abuses including bullying.

5:30 p.m.

As Aisha makes her way home from school, she is thinking about how Omar, one of her students, did not come to class today and has been missing school more regularly. She worries about him and decides she will go see his family tomorrow to ask what is keeping him out of class and encourage his attendance.

7 p.m.

After her children go to bed, Aisha starts her lesson planning for tomorrow. She only gets her students in class for a few hours each day and wants to be sure they get the best education possible. 

With reporting by Alinor Osman

Choosing education: A Somali girl from an IDP camp finds her way to the classroom

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Posted September 7, 2022 .
By Sabra Ayres and Alinor Osman .
5 min read.

From a very young age, Amran Abukar Ali longed to go to school. But as the oldest child, Amran was depended on to help support the family.

When droughts decimated the area where her family was living on a small farm in Buraley village, Amran’s family searched for better opportunities and moved to Walaweyn, 15 kilometers to the south.

She and her mother and siblings settled in an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp. They survived on the daily earnings her mother made through temporary jobs. As the only parent and family breadwinner, Amran’s mother, Sharifo, had to put her daughter to work. Amran started doing domestic chores for other families to contribute to the family’s meager income.

Education is highly valued in Somali culture, but parents like Sharifo grapple with poor economic circumstances, forcing them to make difficult tradeoffs.

While searching for work in the neighborhood, Sharifo heard a group of people telling the community about a new education program called Bar ama Baro (Teach or Learn), a five-year accelerated basic education program funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. She learned that Bar ama Baro (BAB) offered classes and supplies at no cost to students, and that the program aimed to empower out-of-school children like her daughter with a chance to catch up and enroll in the formal school system.

Despite the challenges facing many Somali parents, Sharifo decided to forgo asking her daughter to work. The free classes were an opportunity neither would pass up.

Finally at age 13, Amran was able to begin her studies.

“I did not have a chance to get an education in my childhood,” Sharifo says. “I am so happy that one of my children is lucky enough to get this free education and, hopefully, I will be able to enroll the rest soon.”

Amran is one of more than 100,000 students who have been enrolled in BAB’s accelerated basic education program since the project’s start two years ago.

Roughly two-thirds of school-age children and youth in Somalia are not enrolled in school, making programs like BAB critical to expanding literacy in the country. The program condenses a typical eight-year primary cycle into four years. This allows children between the ages of nine and 17 to catch up and either join the formal school system or obtain a primary school certificate through a nationally recognized examination process.

Working with the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Higher Education, and Federal Member States’ Ministries of Education, BAB has trained 130 teacher trainers, who in turn trained 2,700 accelerated basic education teachers and headteachers at 460 schools in 31 districts on how to work with students and other tips for classroom success.

BAB program has also printed and distributed 772,000 copies of teaching and learning materials for students and teachers.

“Increasing access to education is a top strategic priority for the Government of Somalia, and International Literacy Day is a time to emphasize the importance of learning the foundational skill of reading,” said Minister Farah Sheikh Abdulkadir. “We value our partnership with USAID, which enables more Somali children to access quality education services.”

As it starts its second year, BAB has expanded to 20 new districts, making the total target districts 32 including urban and rural areas. The project is committed to enrolling out-of-school kids and youth in hard-to-reach areas.

“Bar ama Baro is supporting the Government of Somalia to address the need of the large out of school population in the country”, said Faiza Hassan, Chief of Party. “Together we will continue to expand Somalia’s public education system so that every child has the opportunity to learn.”

Bar ama Baro takes its name from a beloved, nation-wide, civic service-oriented literacy campaign launched in the 1970s. Drawing on that rich legacy, this program’s combination of service delivery, policy support, and systems strengthening is supporting improved curriculum, increased capacity, extended outreach, and strengthened learning supports to overage and out-of-school children in Somalia.

“The United States is proud to partner with Somalia to create opportunities for young people,” said Larry E. André, Jr, U.S. Ambassador to Somalia. “Reading unlocks opportunities for lifelong learning and earning.  Investments in education ultimately will help ensure a prosperous, peaceful future for Somalia.”

The project’s success can be measured not just through its impressive enrollment numbers and the number of trained teachers, but also through the voices of its accelerated basic education students, like Amran, whom it is helping to create a pathway to getting a primary school certificate and enter the formal school system or seek to continue their education through vocational and post-secondary studies.

Amran is thrilled to be in school and her lessons are her top priority. She is an inspiration for her younger siblings, who now want to go to school, too.

“They always come to me when I am reading my books and they try to read too. At first, they could not understand anything, but now they understand a lot and they can’t wait to go to school and get their own books,” says Amran about her siblings.

Sharifo is proud of her daughter’s diligence and how Amran’s example has ignited a love of education within the household.

“My other children are now asking me to send them to school, because like Amran, they too want to be able to read and do math calculations. I promised them I would enroll them next year,” says Sharifo.

Amran completed her first year with Bar ama Baro in May, and says she expects to pass her exams with flying colors.

“My dream is to attend university and become an English teacher to help eradicate illiteracy among my people, particularly those who are from poor families,” she says.

Communities and parents play a crucial role in supporting a child’s education. BAB has helped set up and support community education committees to help connect out-of-school children and youth with the opportunities provided through the project and the MOECHE’s accelerated basic education program. The committees will be a critical part of keeping kids enrolled as the school year goes on.

“Amran’s education and her future are much more important than anything else now,” Sharifo says. “I don’t want to distract her from attending her classes or studying.

Now, when Amran is at home, her mother says she has all the freedom she needs to read her books and do her assignments, Sharifo says.

READ II support improves reading, motivates educators and students

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Posted September 7, 2022 .
By Berihun Ali .
5 min read.

When Tarikua Tesfaye completed the second grade in 2020, she was frustrated. She still couldn’t read, and even struggled to identify the letters and sounds of the alphabet.  

She was far from the only second-grade student who couldn’t read in Ethiopia, where a 2016 study revealed that only a third of second and third grade students could read at a functional level.  

Today, Tarikua, 11, is now considered one of the best readers in her fourth-grade class, thanks to the support her school and its teachers are receiving from the READ II project. The five-year program funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development supports millions of primary school students in Ethiopia in more than 3,000 target schools in seven regions.  

Tarikua’s improvement is a typical example of how students, when supported, can succeed in Ethiopia.  

Tarikua Tesfaye, a fourth grader in the Dara district of Sidama state in Ethiopia is proud to say she’s one of the best readers in her class. Her school and its teachers have received training from USAID’s READ II training.

“Cognizant of the challenges from consecutive studies conducted earlier, the USAID READ II project has been implementing a set of interlinked activities to help primary school children learn to read,” says Tassew Zewdie (Ph.D.), the project’s chief of party.  

These activities include providing training to mother-tongue and English-language teachers to improve classroom instruction; capacity building of education administrators to better support schools and teachers; providing supplementary reading materials for students who previously didn’t have access, and creating awareness among communities to support children’s reading, he adds.   

The Ethiopian government has made it a priority to increase the country’s consistently low literacy rates. To assist the government to address these challenges, READ II  seeks to boost the quality of literacy instruction and student support for 15 million children, including those at risk of failure and dropout caused by cognitive, emotional, and physical effects of hunger, violence, and displacement.  

Implemented by Creative Associates International, along with its core partners Education Development Center and World Vision, the project works to better equip teachers with effective early grade reading instruction techniques and materials in seven mother-tongue languages and English, while simultaneously building a culture of reading in the school, home and community. 

By employing the more student-centered approach, students are engaged and actively participate in the classroom activities and drills. Teachers are trained to identify and group students based on their reading performance using the tools they receive from the READ II training to provide focused support to those who are weak performers.  

Tarikua is one of those students who benefited from the focused support, which allowed her catch up to her grade-level reading skills and fall in love with reading.  

She now can read well from all the texts in her books as well as the stories in the supplementary reading materials READ II provided to them. “I am excited to start school,” she says. “I feel I am improving my reading and my grades in school, and I want to improve them more in this [academic] year.” 

Supporting teachers to help students succeed   

Tarikua’s school is in Odola Primary School in the Dara district of the newly established Sidama regional state some 370 kilometers south of the capital, Addis Ababa. The school teaches in Sidaamu Afoo, the mother tongue of the region. 

Tarikua’s Sidaamu Afoo teacher, Aregash Demeke, received training from READ II, which helped her to improve her classroom instruction. The mother-tongue teacher is also supported by the school director, cluster supervisor, and mentors, who are all trained by READ II. These all expedite Aregash to deliver better classroom instruction to help students learn reading.  

“The training and the successive supports I am getting has completely transformed the way I teach in the classroom,” Aregash says. “I have acquired new skills and employ new methodologies on how I teach students to learn to read and write, to monitor and evaluate them.” 

 Tarikua’s success shows that students can improve reading with support from their teachers, the community and their parents. 

“I have observed remarkable progress on my students’ reading performance after implementing the tools and methodologies I acquire from the READ II training,” Aregash says. “The supports I get from my colleagues, the school director and mentor teachers, as well as the cluster supervisor are very helpful in delivering better to students.” 

Though Aregash has been working as a mother-tongue teacher for more than a decade, she never used a teacher’s guide or any other manual as a reference. But after the training, she understood how important such a guide’s use is for students’ learning success. She now uses the teacher’s guides and the manual she is provided at the training in each session.  

“We strictly use them alongside the students’ textbook on a daily basis. I also refer them when planning and implementing those plans,” she says.  

Aregash plans, executes and evaluates her activities and her students’ performance based on the tools and checklists she acquired from the training.  

“The school director, cluster supervisor, as well as my mentor and colleague provide me support on a daily basis, starting from the lesson plan preparation to the evaluation of students,” she says.  

The improvements Aregash says she has observed in the past few years in students’ performances—particularly reading skills, are rewarding as well as inspiring and motivating for other students. 

When they came to school for the first time after a long summer break, students were excited as they expect to continually improve their performances supported by their teacher, parents and volunteer community literacy leaders, who are supporting them to practice reading in the reading camps established near their village. Tarikua, too, was also excited to come to school like other students.  

Aregash Demeke, Tarikua’s teacher, says she is inspired by the successes of her students.

“The training and the continued support have improved the way I teach students,” says Aregash. 

In addition to the support students get from schools, they are also provided an opportunity to practice their reading in a reading park established in their school compound and reading camps established near their village.  

In reading camps, students use the facilities usually on the weekends and after school with facilitation support from volunteer community literacy leaders. READ II provided training and ongoing support to volunteer community literacy leaders to facilitate the reading camps session for students to practice their reading.  

“In the reading camps there are books we practice after school and over the weekends,” Tarikua says. “I think they have helped me a lot in improving my reading as I also sometimes borrow them to read at home.”  

Tarikua wants to be a teacher when she grows up. She wants to support children to learn better and understand new things as her teachers are doing for her.  

“I want to be an exceptional teacher when I grow up,” she says. “I want to help students in my community—both boys and girls—to  succeed in their education.”