Impact / News

JOINING FORCES TO PROVIDE QUALITY, INCLUSIVE EDUCATION; LAUNCHING OUR MADAGASCAR PILOT PROJECT

August 9, 2021

United World Schools

4 mins

As part of our UWS-2030 vision, our goal over the next decade is to reach 250,000 primary school aged children with a UWS classroom, and a quality, inclusive education. In support of this, we are delighted to announce the launch of a pilot project in Madagascar in partnership with Blue Ventures and the Axian Foundation.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, our teams across Cambodia, Nepal and Myanmar remained resilient in the face of unprecedented circumstances. Not only this, we innovatively pivoted our education techniques to continue reaching children in remote communities with our award-winning model of quality, inclusive education.  Despite the challenges of the past 18 months, we continued growing for the 12th consecutive year, increasing our reach to more than 43,000 children, 1,200 teachers, and 250 schools.

Despite this progress, we are ever mindful that 258 million children remain out of school globally – and that the pandemic has had a devastating impact on a decade of collective progress in reducing those numbers. At United World Schools (UWS), we are committed to ending the global education crisis and transforming children’s lives through our approach to universal education access. As part of our UWS-2030 vision, our goal over the next decade is to reach 250,000 primary school aged children with education.  In support of this, we are delighted to announce the launch of a pilot project in Madagascar. 

In partnership with Blue Ventures, an award winning conservation charity which aims to holistically transform communities, and the Axian Foundation, we are launching a ground-breaking partnership. This partnership will transform the lives of thousands of children across southwest Madagascar. 

Madagascar remains one of the poorest countries in the world; a staggering 75% of the population live below the poverty line and only 40% of children finish primary education. In remote and coastal areas, which have traditionally been difficult to access for other NGOs, there is limited support and little access to basic infrastructure including education. Our speciality is accessing these communities where others cannot. Research from our partner Blue Ventures indicates that between 40-50% of children are out of school in the coastal southwestern regions of Madagascar. 

We are launching a pilot project, where we will construct five schools in the remote communities of Andavadoaka, a fishing village located in Madagascar’s Velondriake region on the southwest coast of Madagascar. Here, the lack of access to education is significantly higher than the majority of the country; only 1 in 3 children in the Velondriake area currently have access to a classroom. Of the children currently in school, most do not make it beyond primary level and girls are likely to drop out at a young age. These schools will serve approximately 1,000 children. 

“Blue Ventures is delighted to collaborate with United World Schools, an NGO specialising in education, facilitated by the financing of the Axian Foundation with whom we have a longstanding relationship.

– Peter Wilson, Country Director of Blue Ventures Madagascar

“This collaboration is great news for the thousands of children from the remote coastal communities in Madagascar who struggle to access education. Blue Ventures has been working with coastal communities around Madagascar for over 15 years. This initiative will support quality education for children opening up their futures to earn a living outside the immediate fisheries sector.”

 

Isabelle Salabert, Chief Executive from Axian Foundation, said: Collaboration and sharing of expertise are at the heart of Axian Foundation’s operating model. Working hand in hand with internationally renowned NGO’s in the field of education and sustainable development such as United World Schools and Blue Venture is a unique opportunity for us and more importantly for the school children who will benefit from better learning conditions.”

We are so proud to be launching this project with Blue Ventures at the Axian Foundation, and we look forward to sharing the success of the pilot.

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