EDC Awarded Education Project in DRC
EDC has been selected to lead a comprehensive five-year, $28 million education initiative in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Funded by USAID, the Foundational Literacy for Improved Educational Resilience (FLIER) activity will increase access to education, improve the quality of social and emotional learning (SEL) and literacy instruction in schools and community learning centers, and build community and parental support for children’s learning.
“We are very pleased to continue our work in the DRC through this new award,” says Jo Mushitu, EDC’s chief of party for the FLIER project. “FLIER presents a tremendous opportunity to improve educational programming for thousands of children and families in a moment where these services are experiencing extraordinary stress.”
A core concern of FLIER is to improve educational opportunities for historically marginalized and vulnerable populations, including the Batwa (Pygmy) community, girls, and children with disabilities. As such, FLIER seeks to build safe learning environments that incorporate healing and nurturing approaches in the classroom. The activity will also use interactive audio instruction to reach an estimated 170 communities in the provinces of Ituri, Tanganyika, and Équateur, as well as on the outskirts of the country’s capital city, Kinshasa.
“Unfortunately, too many learners remain on the outside of the DRC’s educational system, jeopardizing not just their future, but also that of their country,” says Adwoa Atta-Krah, project director for FLIER.
FLIER continues EDC’s comprehensive work in the DRC. Since 2018, EDC has led the USAID Integrated Youth Development Activity (IYDA), an effort to strengthen young people’s access to alternative learning opportunities, critical life skills, and livelihoods support in conflict-affected communities. EDC recently completed work on the USAID Enhancing Services and Linkages for Children Affected by HIV and AIDS (ELIKIA) project, which delivered health, educational, and social services to HIV-affected families and communities.
EDC’s partners on FLIER include Alfalit International, the International Rescue Committee, Ligue de la Zone Afrique pour la Défense des Droits des Enfants et Elèves (LIZADEEL), Union Novatrice pour la Dynamique des Paysans Agriculteurs (UNDPA), Ministère de l’Enseignement Primaire, Secondaire et Technique (EPST), and Ministère des Affaires Sociales, Action Humanitaire et Solidarité Nationale (MOSA).