Many children living in poverty are reliant on school not just for learning; but for protection, nutrition and many other aspects of their well-being. Children living in poverty also tend to be furthest behind in learning metrics, and now risk dropping out of school altogether; their future in jeopardy. Dignitas school partners are Community Champions rooted in, and passionate about the needs of their communities, and Dignitas is working to equip and support them to respond to this urgent need.
Since the abrupt school closures in Kenya, children's learning was interrupted with no organized way of meaningfully engaging children and teachers while at home. A significant proportion of children from poor households are reliant on school not just for learning; but for protection, nutrition and many other aspects of their well-being. Risks to child well-being have significantly increased. This project will impact more than 1,000 children from informal settlements of Nairobi over 6 months.
In an effort to reach and protect these children, we immediately thought of our amazing community of School Leaders and Teachers. Dignitas has trained over 1,000 educators, and have another 450 educators enrolled for 2020. Dignitas is now remotely training and coaching Community Champions who will virtually support 500 households to strengthen parental engagement, share learning resources, and undertake regular household follow ups to ensure children are safe.
Whilst everything else is disrupted, our vision to ensure all children have the opportunity to thrive and succeed remains core to our COVID-19 response. The project will benefit 500 households and 1,000 children. Educators will be gain critical skills that will help them transform their schools in future. Parents will be equipped with skills to lead learning at home. Children will able to keep pace with peers and stay meaningfully engaged in learning, ready to return to school on reopening.
