buildOn works to break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy through service and education. Since its founding, the organisation has worked to inspire parents in rural communities to become active participants in their own development and education improvement. In partnership with rural communities and local Ministries of Education, buildOn has completed 1,841 schools in Burkina Faso, Guatemala, Haiti, Malawi, Mali, Nepal and Senegal. At the moment, more than 249,000 children attend buildOn schools worldwide, many of whom were formerly out of school or at risk of dropping out. Through the implementation of monitoring and evaluation methodology, buildOn has seen primary school enrolment numbers in the villages that they partner with increase on average by more than 20 per cent following the first year of project completion.
The EAC/buildOn Enrol OOSC Project: Break the Cycle of Poverty initiative’s goal is to improve inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for 159,211 OOSC of primary-school age across the project countries of Burkina Faso, Guatemala, Haiti, Malawi, Mali, Nepal and Senegal. By formally collaborating with more than 200,000 community members who will play an active role in execution and delivery, over the course of 6 years, the Enrol OOSC Project seeks to increase:
- Access to primary school education for OOSC from targeted communities;
- Communities and governments’ engagement, ensuring long-term commitment and support to the education of all children; and
- Enrolment and retention of OOSC from target communities in project countries.
Furthermore, the project will achieve its objectives through:
- Construction of 1,873 new primary schools in rural localities across projects within the framework of a participatory methodology;
- Sensitisation and capacity building of community members, leaders, teachers, government officials and students;
- Implementation of Accelerated Education Programmes (AEPs) and support to OOSC by way of classes, school kits and securing birth certificate registration; and
- Creation of income-generating initiatives vis-à-vis collective products and individual small loans.
For more information about this EAC Implementing Partner, please visit the buildOn website.
Partners
buildOn
For more than two decades, buildOn has partnered with local governments and mobilized rural villages in some of the poorest countries on the planet to build more than 618 schools in Haiti, Malawi, Mali, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Senegal. In February 2014, they broke ground on their first school in Burkina Faso.Countries
Burkina Faso
A landlocked Sahelian/Saharan country in West Africa, Burkina Faso shares borders with six other African countries. The country ranks amongst the poorest in the world and in 2012 armed conflict and instability from neighbouring Mali brought about a humanitarian crisis and waves of refugees into Burkina Faso. In 2014, Burkina Faso captured the 181st position in the United Nations Human Development Index. That same year, the country’s head of state was ousted from the presidency in a popular uprising after having ruled Burkina Faso for 27 years.
Haiti
The Republic of Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere. EAC works in partnership with CARE and buildOn to provide access to quality primary education for out of school children.
Malawi
Situated in Southern Africa, the Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country, sharing borders with Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia. Soon after declaring independence the British in July 1964, the country was ruled by Dr Hastings Banda who presided over a one-party state for the next three decades. In 1994, Bakili Muluzi of the United Democratic Front was elected president in the country’s first ever multi-party elections. Occupying roughly 118,000 square kilometres, Malawi’s main exports are tobacco, tea, sugar and cotton. According to the UN, life expectancy for men and women in the country is approximately 55 years and GDP growth in 2012 was 1.8 per cent. In 2015, Malawi ranked 170 out of 188 other countries and territories on the UN’s Human Development Index.
Mali
Situated in the heart of West Africa, Mali is a Sahelian country that shares borders with seven other African countries. Recent estimates indicate that if annual population growths continues unabated at 3.6 percent, Mali’s population under the age of 25 will double. As it happens, the country’s population is unevenly distributed throughout the national territory, as 77.5 percent of people live in disparate rural areas. Roughly 73 percent of people in rural areas and 63 percent of the population overall live in poverty. Compounding matters, an armed conflict and instability emanating from the North, have, since 2012, brought about a humanitarian crisis in the country and an influx of refugees into neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger.
Nepal
Located between China to the North and India to the South, Nepal is a landlocked country composed of a vastly diverse population with distinct cultural, ethnic and religious backgrounds. A 2011 national census revealed that the country was home to at least 125 ethnic groups. According to the Nepal Living Standards Survey conducted the year prior, approximately one-fourth of the population lives below the poverty line. Furthermore, the 2013 United Nations Human Development Index classified Nepal 157 amongst 187 countries. In April 2015, a massive earthquake killed scores of people and devastated the country’s infrastructure.
