New early grade reading program kicks off in Nigeria

September 2, 2022

5 min read

A new five-year education project that will provide technical assistance in support of continued and sustainable reading outcomes for first and second grade students in the country launched before a gathering of more than 250 educators, government officials and international donors.

Funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, the new Leveraging Education Assistance Resources in Nigeria (LEARN to Read) program will foster global and local best practices for the ownership, sustainability and improvement of teaching and learning of early grade reading gains initially in the states of Bauchi and Sokoto, followed by other locations.

During the Aug. 30, 2022, official launch of the new USAID-supported program, the Permanent Secretary of Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Education pledged the government’s support to the new endeavor.

“Such an initiative is no doubt adding value to the efforts put in place by the Ministry of Education,” said David Adejo Andrew, the Permanent Secretary of Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Education during keynote remarks at the ceremony. “I want to assure you that the federal government of Nigeria with partnerships with the states, will continue to provide the necessary environment to improve the education sector. With the support of development partners like USAID, I’m sure that Nigeria will steadily move toward attaining its sustainability goals.”

The Emir of Bauchi, Alh. Dr. Rilwanu Suleiman Adamu, told attendees during the official launch, that “now that LEARN to Read is here with a national outlook, I hope our governments at all levels would support and sustain the initiative.”

“Let me pledge our support and commitment in any possible way for this development initiative in our states, particularly in education which has been the bedrock for sustainable development,” the Emir of Bauchi said.

Implemented by Creative Associates International and partners, the USAID-supported LEARN to Read program will use an approach that places the child at the center of the process of learning, enabling whole-child support via safe, equitable school environments, said Nurudeen Lawal, LEARN to Read’s Chief of Party, at the event.

“The implementation will focus on differentiated, inclusive instruction that supports the development of materials that will be language-, context- and level-appropriate and will be made available to every child,” said Lawal. “This ecosystem approach is aimed at uniting and transforming attitudes and behaviors at all levels to foster ownership and sustainability.”

Creative’s President and CEO, Leland Kruvant, highlighted the importance of this technical support program and its goals for Nigeria’s children.

“All of us in this room are here today because we share the responsibility of nourishing the young minds in Nigeria with knowledge and curiosity that will help to build a stronger, more resilient country,” Kruvant said. “LEARN to Read represents a strategic investment in the future of this great country’s children.”

In addition to Nigeria education agencies, LEARN to Read’s other implementing partners are the American University of Nigeria, Cambridge Education and School-To-School International, Connected Development (CODE) and The Education Partnership (TEP) Centre.

Hajia Mariya Waziri, the wife of the Executive Governor of the Sokoto state who was named “Mother of the Day” during the launch ceremony, praised the dignitaries in attendance for showing their committed to the future of Nigeria’s children. The LEARN to Read project presented her with an award to thank her for her service as National Reading Ambassador.

Adamu Suleiman, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education for Bauchi, said the selection of Bauchi as a program participant is “indeed, a great honor.”

The launch of LEARN to Read is another success in Nigerian history, he added. “Reading in the mother tongue is what every child needs in early primary school. If they are trained to recognize the letters in the language they know, reading will be more easily facilitated and more comprehensible to them,” Suleiman said, thanking the U.S. government for its support for the project.

*All photos by Lampsi Concept.

Continuation of Education Support

The new program follows the USAID-funded Northern Education Initiative (NEI Plus), which improved reading outcomes for close to 1 million children in Bauchi and Sokoto states, and its predecessor, the Northern Education Initiative (NEI), which strengthened basic education systems in Bauchi and Sokoto by increasing access to quality basic education and social services. Creative lead the implementation of both successful projects.

“It is on the record that NEI Plus brought a lot of improvements in the learning skills of our children in Bauchi and Sokoto states,” said the Emir of Bauchi, who has long supported educational development in the region. “With the coming of LEARN to Read, I believe it will continue to be a guide on the best practices left behind by NEI Plus.”

Through USAID’s commitment to LEARN to Read, and with the support across all levels of governments in the targeted regions, the previous successes of NEI Plus will expand to a national level, the Emir said.

NEI Plus successfully implemented activities that included the distribution of more than 9 million early grade teaching and learning materials to 7,900 schools and informal learning centers in the states. During NEI Plus’ five years of the implementation, Bauchi and Sokoto states invested more than $3.8 million to expand early grade reading approaches to all local government areas in the two states.

Simultaneously, USAID supported an emergency initiative called the Education Crisis Response program that was designed to support students, educators and communities affected by the conflict caused by Boko Haram. It was implemented by Creative, along with local, national and international partners.

LEARN to Read will support both Bauchi and Sokoto to leverage more state and private resources to infuse global best practices for the teaching and learning of early grade learning. The project will build on lessons learned from prior reading programs in Nigeria to introduce a flexible, cost-efficient early grade learning intervention model that can be tailored to state contexts.

LEARN to Read will support the strengthening of existing national assessments, build ongoing evidence-based oversight, performance management, problem solving, and share results and best practice related to reforms. The project will work with relevant federal agencies in developing a national reading reform strategy from the National Reading Framework priorities.

Creative’s Kruvant explained that the success of these and other development programs is a mix of several critical factors, including the engagement and full participation of local stakeholders and technical experts.

“For me, one that stands out is the critical importance of local partnerships and collaboration to achieve a common vision for early grade education – especially for girls and marginalized communities,” he said at the event. “And these partnerships have truly enriched programming and delivered measurable and sustainable results.”

Also in Nigeria, Creative is implementing the North East Connection, as well as the regional food security and economic development program called the West Africa Trade and Investment Hub. Both are supported by USAID.

Female religious leader builds peace in northern Ghana

August 24, 2022

1 min read

Hajia Mariam Alhassan Alolo has created more than 100 religious centers in northern Ghana, including in and near the city of Tamale, that have serviced thousands of students, mostly women and girls. Hajia Mariam uses her role to identify and reduce conflicts within families and the community, as well as working with other religious leaders to resolve intra-Muslim conflicts in the north. With the support of the USAID/OTI-funded Littorals Regional Initiative, she has developed new peacebuilding and leadership skills that have benefited her community and peers. Produced by Littorals Regional Initiative on behalf of USAID/OTI. The opinions expressed are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the position of the U.S. government.

Ghana: Building lives, improving relations & stemming violence through VSLAs

August 24, 2022

1 min read

Longstanding prejudice and land competition between ethnic Fulbe pastoralists and settled farmers in Ghana’s Savannah Region are causing increased conflict and destabilizing communities. The USAID/OTI Littorals Regional Initiative is leveraging mixed village savings and loans associations to promote peaceful co-existence and economic collaboration between the two groups.

Queen Mothers resolve conflict and build social cohesion in northern Ghana

August 24, 2022

1 min read

Kansawurche Dr. Hajia Bukari uses her small clinic in rural northern Ghana to treat injuries, deliver babies and resolve community conflicts. As a traditional female leader called a Queen Mother, neighbors bring disputes with the hope that she can negotiate a mutually agreeable settlement and avoid the possibility of violence. To support her efforts and those of other Queen Mothers, USAID/OTI’s Littorals Regional Initiative provided leadership and conflict resolution training. The Queen Mothers say the training has made a significant difference in their ability to address conflict in the region. Produced on behalf of USAID/OTI. The opinions expressed in this video are those of the interviewees and do not necessarily reflect the position of the U.S. government.

Youth Power: A Look at How Creative Projects Champion Young People Worldwide

August 10, 2022

By Adrienne Todela

7 min read

USAID’s updated Youth in Development Policy envisions a world in which young people have the agency, rights, influence and opportunities to pursue their life goals and contribute to the development of their communities.

With a focus on three objectives – access, participation and systems – USAID is seeking to increase youth’s meaningful participation and decision making within their systems and the ability to access services and opportunities that allow them to lead healthy, productive and engaged lives.

Creative projects have championed and successfully integrated positive youth development approaches in their programming, and so we asked a few to share what that looks like.

ACS – Business Plans Help Honduran Youth Realize Entrepreneurial Opportunities

By Daniela Farinas, Project Manager, Economic Growth Division

An interactive story map produced by ACS to visualize drought-prone areas and the project’s interventions.

Alianza para Coredor Seco (ACS) aimed to improve the food security and nutrition of 6,000 families living in vulnerable conditions in the Dry Corridor of Honduras. Through ACS’s nonagricultural business plans, youth were provided access to technical and resource support to start entrepreneurial ventures.

Under the guidance of technical experts, youth were engaged in co-analyzing relevant market data and trends, selecting viable business opportunities that satisfied their interests and aligned with the market, co-developing business plans and ultimately starting their own business. In addition to building youth skills, critical investments were made for key productive assets and equipment required to start the business. Through this learning-by-doing process, youth were supported to build assets and acquire the necessary resources to create their own economic pathways.

Angel Andres, a participant of the non-agricultural business plans, was passionate about mechanics. He enrolled in the project to receive capacity building in financial management, governance, and business management- critical skills required to transform his passion for motorcycles into a viable economic opportunity.

Angel took advantage of the learning opportunity and put his new skills into action by starting his first motorcycle repair shop. Today, Angel and his four partners are providing repairs, oil change, electric, and tire patching services to clients from Santa Ana, Concepcion de Maria, and other nearby municipalities.

PSR – Addressing Violent Extremism and Community Challenges through Youth Empowerment

By Jacqueline Glin, Senior Project Director, Communities in Transition Division

Peacebuilding, Stabilization and Reconciliation (PSR) supports Malian youth in addressing violent extremism and challenges in their communities through two pillars: Employment and civic engagement; and strengthening their voices within their families and communities.

Under the first pillar, PSR envisions Mali’s youth to be agents of their own development and actively engaged on civic and community matters. Under the project’s facilitation, Malian youth map business assets in their communities and identify livelihood opportunities for social impact. They also go through leadership development training and mentoring. For aspiring youth entrepreneurs, PSR supports business plan development and provides seed funding so they can launch their micro-businesses.

Under the second pillar, PSR guides youth to effectively and more meaningfully engage with their community elders including teachers, religious leaders, and parents to discuss ways to reduce, prevent and counter violent extremist tendencies among youth. As a result, youth have taken on the crucial role of sensitizing members of families and their peers about the consequences of radicalization and violent narratives on families and communities.

Youth are working together with religious leaders to develop and build alternative and counternarratives that collectively address violent extremism. They also collaborate with teachers in public and koranic schools to reinforce messages in support of social cohesion and against hate and violent extremism.

TVET SAY – Young People Take Charge in Nicaragua

By Eliza Chard, Senior Project Director, Economic Growth Division

Technical Vocational Education and Training Strengthening for At-Risk Youth (TVET SAY) supported at-risk Nicaraguan youth to increase their socio-economic gains while fostering safer environments. The TVET SAY team knew that youth themselves were key partners and stakeholders within the project and critical to its success, so youth participation was built into activities and implementation approaches at all levels.

A Youth Advisory Council was a principal instrument for formalizing youths’ roles and influence throughout the program cycle. The council was comprised of more than 20 scholarship recipients from Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast representing all the technical career programs, along with youth leaders representing disadvantaged groups, such as LGBTQIA+ and youth with disabilities.

These youth served as campaign ambassadors who promoted the benefits of technical education in their communities and neighborhoods, advocated for TVET in national level platforms, provided ideas on how to promote youth employment opportunities and foster youth participation in decision-making platforms, promoted TVET SAY activities, and brought youths’ needs to the project’s attention. They also provided feedback on TVET institutions, their curricula, and course delivery, and monitored the program’s scholarship awardees, making TVET more attractive to youth and responsive to their needs and aspirations.

Promoting youth leadership to adults in the community is also a key component of incorporating youth into community decision making which can lead to safer, more resilient communities. The project established the Youth and Adult Working Group (YAWG), which was intended to build understanding and collaboration between adults and youth, allowing youth to identify community challenges and propose ideas for resolving them in a safe space with support from adults.

BAB – Meaningful Inputs to Somalia’s Accelerated Non-Formal Education Helps Out-of-School Youth

By Nadya Karim-Shaw, Senior Technical Advisor, Education for Development Division 

Bar ama Baro (Teach or Learn) has focused on systematic, scalable and measurable inputs in Somalia’s efforts on providing accelerated non-formal education. Aimed at reaching more than 1.2 million out-of-school children and youth, the majority of whom are ages 12-18, the curriculum condenses eight years of formal schooling into four years and covers Arabic, English, science, social studies, Somali, Tarbiyah and technology, along with critical learning and life competencies.

Bar ama Baro (Teach or Learn) conducts teacher trainings to help educators reach out of school youth

It ensures that youth can rejoin the formal secondary education system through Grade 8 level certification or apply to join a vocational program. BAB’s systems approach simultaneously builds capacity in Somalia’s curriculum department within the Ministry of Culture, Education and Higher Education as well as with Somalia’s primary publishing company BEDER. This is achieved through extensive collaborative guidance on global accelerated learning best practices, technical inputs on textbook and materials development, and comprehensive field testing and reviews. 

Nearly 1 million copies of textbooks, Teacher Guides, and supplementary materials have been distributed. In parallel, BAB works with the Quality Assurance, Examinations, and EMIS ministry departments to integrate its school and district level education data to facilitate better planning and donor coordination.

“Ensuring that all Somali children have access to equitable, inclusive and quality education is a top priority for the Somali Government. Through the partnership with USAID’s Bar ama Bar program, we are reaching more Somali children with quality education, which will contribute positively to the security, social and economic development of this country.” – Mohamed Abbi Hassan, MoCEHE Director General

CFYR – Effecting Change in Systems to Champion and Serve Caribbean Youth

By Debra Wahlberg, Senior Technical Advisor, Economic Growth Division, and formerly CFYR’s Chief of Party

Community, Family and Youth Resilience (CFYR) Program worked to reduce youth involvement in crime and violence and empower them to become productive citizens of the Caribbean states. CFYR supported vulnerable youth ages 10 to 29 from Saint Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis and Guyana by strengthening youth, family and community support systems; improving the skills of youth to resist involvement in violence; expanding access to education and employment opportunities; and providing specialized services to youth at the highest risk of engaging in violence. The program also worked in Guyana on juvenile justice reforms to ensure that youth already in contact with the law can be successfully rehabilitated and reintegrated into the community.

CFYR’s approach ensured that youth were engaged as leaders and agents of change. Working at the community level with 10 Community Enhancement Committees, CFYR supported both the participation of youth leaders on the CEC boards, as well as outreach to youth in the community, to identify youth priorities and develop activities to address these.

The Community Enhancement Committees developed plans that included input and priorities from youth members, such as technical and life skills training, employment opportunities and civic engagement, and engaged the private sector to participate and fund some of the activities that were implemented. Some of the youth-designed and youth-led activities included community clean-ups and neighborhood safety enhancements, such as solar street lighting; preparing and delivering food hampers to elderly and differently abled community members during the pandemic; neighborhood job skills fairs; writing and producing videos that highlight risks that youth face, including intimate partner and gender-based violence; and community sports days, among others. To support the sustainability of the committees’ work, CFYR supported their official registration in Guyana and Saint Lucia to enable the Community Enhancement Committees to receive external funding.

Adrienne Todela is a Senior Technical Manager on Creative’s Knowledge Management team. Colleagues from the Youth Working Group contributed to this blog.

Art for peace: Cinkassé youth use illustration to promote positive community relationships

August 8, 2022

By Atiewin Mbillah-Lawson

3 min read

After Dougnoanou Tchitchane completed senior high school a decade ago, she struggled to find a job in Togo’s rural community of Cinkassé and a lack of funds meant she could not further her education. To avoid remaining idle, she used her passion for art to pass the time, spending the days sketching and painting on a canvas that would often reflect her feelings.

When her uncle told her about a drawing competition to promote peace, social cohesion, and prevent violent extremism supported by the USAID/OTI Littorals Regional Initiative/Programme Regional d’Appui aux Pays Côtiers, she became excited and saw it as a positive step for herself and community.

“The armed robberies and killings were becoming one too many. We were unsure whether the perpetrators were from our village, and no one wanted to discuss it. I hoped the art competition would help start a conversation,” Dougnoanou confessed.

Authorities in Togo’s Savanes region are concerned about increasing insecurity, illiteracy, and poverty. The situation is more pronounced in rural communities like Cinkassé, which borders Burkina Faso, where insurgency is rife, and Ghana. Amid concerns about spillover of violent extremist activities into areas with high levels of illiteracy, the competition’s organizers recognized that illustrations or other visual elements would be more effective to raise awareness. The drawing competition aimed to provide local youth with the opportunity to lead peacebuilding efforts in their communities.

Dougnoanou was among 300 youth from across the eight cantons of Cinkassé to apply in the first round of the competition. “To convey the message of peace, I submitted a drawing of two men arguing, followed by the symbol of peace that I illustrated with two hands clenching” says Dougnoanou.

The 27-year-old was thrilled to find out she was one of 20 shortlisted entries, earning her an opportunity to participate in a series of training sessions to improve her illustration skills, drawing, awareness-raising cartoons, and basic techniques to develop an idea or message in drawings. Dougnoanou says, “the training significantly improved my skills; now I can influence my peers and the community using the strokes of my brush.”

For the next round of the competition, the 20 trained youth gathered perceptions on peace, social cohesion, co-existence, and preventing violent extremism in their neighborhoods. These interactions inspired drawings for the final phase of the competition, where a jury would select the three best illustrations.

“In my design, I drew a Christian, Muslim and Traditionalist together on one mat to send the message of religious tolerance,” Dougnoanou explained.

Drawings from Dougnoanou and the other 19 semi-finalists were printed in a booklet and presented to a panel of judges and local officials. “I was nervous about meeting the authorities because it was my first time!” exclaimed Dougnoanou, “after meeting the Prefect, Mayors, and traditional leaders, to present the booklet, I felt a sense of importance; my opinions also matter to them.”

At the end of the competition, all 20 finalists were awarded tablets, with the top three receiving mobile phones and a laptop for the first position holder. Though Dougnoanou’s entry did not make it into the top three, her ranking among the 20 finalists and the training makes her feel like a winner.

Using their new tools and skills, Dougnoanou and the other youth participants are communicating and sharing new ideas about how to encourage peacebuilding in their community. “We are young people who have been equipped to convey peace messages through our drawings. Many people understand our messages, and we are creating awareness. The skills we have acquired can also become an income-generating activity for us which is a plus,” Dougnoanou concludes.

The youth also conducted a series of community sensitizations and have reached more than 400 residents. Dougnoanou now leads discussions with her peers about challenges facing the security of her community. “This engagement sparked in me the desire to join youth associations to be able to raise awareness about the dangers of conflict and violent extremism. I carry a copy of the booklet everywhere I go.”

The booklet and individual drawings are in high demand among authorities in Cinkassé, who use them to educate the public about preventing violent extremism. More than 1,000 copies have been printed and distributed in schools, offices, and community centers.

Going local in West Africa to improve food security

July 14, 2022

4 min read

Many people around the world might find it difficult to pinpoint the specific ways the conflict thousands of miles away between Ukraine and Russia is impacting the global economy. However, the way it is impacting their everyday lives – through price increases of fuel and staple products, the scarcity of certain items and the difficulty in maintaining even a basic standard of living — is a topic of everyday conversation in West Africa.

Understanding the interconnectedness of our global lives and the reality that Russia and Ukraine together export around 30 percent of the world’s wheat and barley, one-fifth of its maize, and more than half of its sunflower oil, allows a better appreciation of the ways the conflict is hitting home for all of us and impacting food security in many nations.

While the impacts of the Ukraine conflict are considerable and unavoidable, the USAID-funded West Africa Trade and Investment Hub and its co-investment partners are working in the region and have made significant positive changes to the agricultural and economic landscape. Our partners specifically focus on reducing dependence on foreign supplies of staples such as rice and have been able to “rise to the occasion” through higher domestic production and import substitution to provide some level of insulation from the impacts.

The Trade Hub’s efforts to support economic growth at country and regional levels are rooted in a commitment to improving livelihoods and food security in communities and households. The Trade Hub assists smallholder farmers to produce higher yields, increase their incomes and improve nutrition, particularly those directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

It also engages the private sector to further support food security efforts and invest in the agricultural sector. In addition, the Trade Hub promotes measures to ensure access to healthy, safe, and nutritious foods, as well as activities that support sustainable practices and job creation, especially for women and youth.

For example, in Senegal, Enterprise Aïssatou Gaye, a woman-owned Trade Hub co-investment partner, aims to reduce the nation’s dependence on imported rice, while La Laiterie du Berger is improving and increasing the availability of fresh and nutritious dairy products in the region. This is a key contribution considering the increased costs associated with processing, storing, and transporting fresh dairy products. Now more than ever, the importance of such developments is key to allowing the region to thrive through self-reliance and improved sustainable agricultural development.

Fonio, a nutrient-packed ancient grain that is native to West Africa, is easily cultivated and attractive as an export for markets seeking viable replacements for well-known cereal grains, such as wheat and barley. When considering food security, the benefits of fonio have long been known in the region, as it is key to weathering challenges presented by seasonal changes, drought, pests, and nutrient-depleted soil.

The Trade Hub is partnering with several companies in the region, including La Petite Damba (Guinea), Biosene (Senegal and Burkina Faso), AMAATI (Ghana), and Mali Shi/Yolélé (Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, and Senegal), to establish a new, West African, global value chain for fonio that will improve access to this “superfood” throughout the region.

As I write this, it is the rainy season in most of West Africa, the time for farmers to fertilize and seed their fields. Eastern Europe, particularly Ukraine and Russia, is a major global supplier of agricultural inputs, especially fertilizer and its raw materials. Therefore, it is quite timely that a recent second Trade Hub grant to OCP Africa Fertilizers Nigeria Limited is allowing the company to manufacture and deploy smart, site- and commodity-specific, blended fertilizers, providing smallholder farmers throughout Nigeria with better and safer access to fertilizers that will improve their yields and profits, positively impacting the issue of food security.

Premier Seed, the oldest seed company in Nigeria and a co-investment partner, has long been known as the region’s major supplier of quality agricultural inputs. Through efforts to increase the production and distribution of improved maize, rice, soybean, and cowpea seeds, this partnership is directly impacting the availability of quality crops.

Several partnerships are allowing companies that specialize in soy to improve and expand their businesses, including Togo-based Agrokom and new Trade Hub co-investment partner Seraph Nigeria Limited. Such partnerships are allowing the growth of one of the region’s most promising exports and solutions for regional food security. IITA BIP’s project to accelerate the production of a new variety of high-yielding soybean seeds for uptake by commercial seed companies in Nigeria is improving farmers’ access to improved seeds and thus helping to boost food security and increase investment in Nigeria’s agricultural sector.

The Trade Hub is also currently proposing the approval of nine more food security-related grants to private businesses in Nigeria, the largest economy and consumer, to spur the production of more food locally.

Having led major food security programs in the past, including as the Regional Food Security Advisor for the United Nations World Food Programme, I am passionate about ensuring sustainable agricultural development and food security, particularly in West Africa. I believe the solutions to many of the challenges will come about through the self-reliance and capability of the citizens with the support of those who can bring innovative ideas and supply knowledge that has been gained through successful ventures and applied research.

The work of the Trade Hub is, in essence, to be a part of building the region so that in challenging times like these, the people in West African nations will have established the self-reliance, infrastructure, and tools to sustain their communities to continue to conduct business and to keep their livelihoods intact, despite the fluctuations that come from elsewhere on the globe.

Robin Wheeler is the Chief of Party for the USAID West Africa Trade and Investment Hub. Learn more about Wheeler and his path to becoming the Trade Hub’s COP in this Q&A.

Training for new, accelerated basic education curriculum sparks thought-provoking discussions and new skills in Somalia

June 27, 2022

By Alinor Osman and Fowzia Warsame

4 min read

The USAID Bar ama Baro wraps up an intensive, nine-day training for a cadre of teacher trainers working in Somalia’s accelerated basic education program

More than 130 teacher trainers, learning-material writers and officials from Somalia’s Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education (MoECHE) participated in an extensive nine-day training event that marks a major milestone in the unprecedented scale-up of the country’s accelerated basic education (ABE) program.

The workshop prepares participants to share their newfound knowledge to improve the skills of an additional 3,000 teachers across the country tasked with advancing Somalia’s ABE program, which aims to provide basic education to generations of youth whose formal education has been interrupted by conflict, famine and instability.

“Ensuring that all Somali children have access to equitable, inclusive and quality education is a top priority for the Somali Government,” says MoECHE Director General Mohamed Abbi Hassan. “Through the partnership with USAID’s Bar ama Bar program, we are reaching more Somali children with quality education, which will contribute positively to the security, social and economic development of this country.”

Ayaan Mohamed,5 sitting on her class at Kulmis zone school in Sanca district, Kulmis school is one of many schools supported by BAB.

Led by a team of experts, including two lecturers from the Somali National University, and the Jubaland Teacher Training Institute, the training is a component of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Bar ama Baro (BAB) project, a five-year primary education program supporting the Government of Somalia in the design and delivery of comprehensive, inclusive education services.

Bar ama Baro, which means “teach or learn” in English, is implementing an ABE program to improve access and quality of education for out-of-school children ages 9 to 18 through direct implementation in the Federal Member States of South West, Jubaland, Hirshabelle and Banadir. Somalia’s ABE condenses eight years of the formal curriculum into four, covering Arabic, English, science, social studies, Somali, Tarbiyah and technology – ensuring that students can either rejoin the formal school system at Grades 2 or 4 or obtain Grade 8 level certification.

More than 100,000 students are expected to benefit from the new curriculum, teaching methods, materials and non-formal learning centers developed by BAB in cooperation with the MoECHE. This expansion follows the ABE Policy and Curriculum Framework inaugurated on April 24, 2021, and a pilot conducted with more than 40,000 students during 2022. By 2023, nearly 1 million ABE textbooks, teacher guides and supplementary reading materials will be distributed.

The nine-day workshop in Mogadishu included sessions on the condensed curriculum and how to start and manage non-formal learning centers, retain student enrolment, monitor quality and the importance of engaging parents and other community members.

Other sessions addressed research on brain-based instructional activities, technical teaching methods for working with beginning readers, participatory techniques to promote numeracy and problem-solving, identifying the needs of ABE students and working with ABE placement testing.

Bar ama Baro’s Chief of Party, Faiza Hassan, Ph.D., applauds the collaboration among the trainees, and adds: “We are very happy to be partners with the MoECHE and the Federal Member States Ministries of Education on the design, development and roll out of this national basic accelerated education program aimed to address the need of the large out-of-school population in the country. Together we will continue to rebuild Somalia’s public education system so that every child has the opportunity to learn.”

More Engaging Work Sessions

Participants said the training’s design and the incorporation of interactive work among the diverse attendees made the sessions more engaging and conducive to learning. In addition, many of the teacher trainers said the clear guidance provided during the sessions created an easy-replicate-model when they began to provide instruction to teachers around the country.

Workshop participants at extensive nine-day training.

Abdirazak Sheikh Mohamed, a MoECHE teacher trainer since 2000, says the management lesson was particularly useful for him “because it offered step-by-step instruction on how to teach and manage classes.” The nine-day seminar was different from previous trainings he has participated in because they were “more interactive and practical, involving both individual and group work,” he says.

“It is easy to follow or teach,” Abdirazak says. “This well-developed and focused syllabus will help improve the quality of education in Somalia. Teachers will also benefit a lot from the techniques and the training offered.”

Ahmed Ali-Shire, a facilitator at the training, said he was impressed by the importance the new curriculum places on ABE educators. “This is important because the teacher is the biggest changemaker,” he says. “They are responsible for student retention and improving learning outcomes.”

Such an approach to the role of teachers is “more effective compared to the traditional one,” Ahmed says. The trainings improve the quality of the teacher, which can lead to improved learning outcomes and create a safe learning environment for the ABE students, he says.

“It shouldn’t be one-time program, it should be sustainable,” he adds.

Jaime Oberlander, USAID/Somalia Social Services Office Director, says of the nine-day training session and the accelerated basic education program: “The United States is proud to partner with Somalia to provide over 100,000 with opportunities to gain fundamental literacy, numeracy and life skills. Through Bar ama Baro, USAID is contributing to building teachers’ skills to meet diverse learners’ needs to help them ‘catch up’ to re-enter the formal school system or transition to vocational or livelihoods training.”

With editing and writing by Sabra Ayres in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

Of Ballots and Post-it Notes: Jeff Fischer and the Evolution of Elections

June 21, 2022

By Tihana Bartulac Blanc

4 min read

When I first met Jeff Fischer in Bosnia in the 1990s, he was already the person the world called to run elections after a war.

When we worked together again in Kosovo in 2000, I learned that he often slept in his office. Maybe it was because of his dedication to his job, but more likely it had to do with the fact that the city’s so-called Grand Hotel wasn’t so grand. As a result of this unusual hoteling situation, most mornings I would arrive to my office to find tasks on neatly written Post-It notes lined up on my desk. This meant Jeff slept in the office, again.

I respected his dedication – and learned to appreciate his Post-It notes. By the time he was assigned to Kosovo, Jeff had earned the reputation and today, millions of people around the world owe a piece of their developing democracies and stable political systems to Jeff’s dedication and inventiveness.

Jeff’s first Post-It instructed me to set up an election media center in Kosovo. It seemed like an odd priority. Garbage was smoldering on the street corners of the capital of Pristina with no municipal services to pick it up. Given the on-the-ground situation, setting up a modern media center for international journalists seemed to be of relatively low importance – not to mention wildly outside of my area of expertise. But those sorts of considerations never stopped Jeff.

This was before Sept. 11, 2001, and Kosovo was the focus of the world’s attention. Jeff knew the importance of the moment and that the media would play a key role in the perception of the elections. In the end, we improvised and transformed an indoor police sports hall into one of the best media centers in the world that greatly facilitated the coverage of the historic elections. It happened only because Jeff put similar Post-It notes on other people’s desks.

Jeff has always been more than an exceptional crisis manager. During more than three decades supporting elections around the world, he has repeatedly reinvented the field – relying on his mental repository of elections information and his constant creativity. Jeff had a dozen ideas about how elections should be run, and he surrounded himself with people who would experiment with them until they worked.

Jeff built at least part of his career on new ideas. For example, electoral violence prevention did not exist as a career or a field of study until Jeff got a hold of it, worked the concept and then tasked his colleagues to build it into a discipline.

During his 15 years at Creative, Jeff helped to launch the Elections Practice Area and remained at the forefront of its development.

Creative’s elections team was small and scrapy – but the size didn’t matter as the team introduced innovative approaches to elections, including the establishment of so-called “Election War Rooms” where we would churn out real time reports on topical elections, or inspiring one of the first internal elections using the Blockchain technology and filling niche areas when it came to electoral education and electoral security.

Thanks to Jeff’s vision we also moved to the forefront of using Ushahidi crowdsourcing tool to expand access for women and individual citizens to directly engage with political processes in their countries. Creative’s team went on to support democratic processes in places like South Sudan and conduct electoral security assessments all over West Africa.

Throughout his career, never once did Jeff’s enthusiasm, innovative thinking or belief in the power of true democracy wane. One of the lowest moments for all of us came during and after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Our hearts sank as we witnessed the post-election violence that we were used to around the world, but not at home.

But Jeff sprang into action immediately. His way of seeing events and breaking them down into components that could be addressed suddenly had application at home. Jeff launched an internal effort document and analyzed the violence we witnessed to understand how it compares to the rest of the world whose electoral problems and violence we had come to understand better.

This initial research would later lead to an assessment of the impact of the insurrection on perceptions of U.S. democracy and its promotion among allies, developing democracies and authoritarian regimes so that the strategies can be crafted to overcome these new concerns and doubts.

The army of friends, admirers and mentees know that Jeff will never fully “retire.” Instead, he just moves on to the next hard thing. When he does, we’ll all be looking forward to the next version of his Post-It note.

Tihana Bartulac Blanc is a Senior Project Director in Creative’s Communities in Transition Division.
Senior Project Director Leora Addison and Chief of Party Terry Hoverter contributed to this blog.

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