How Innovation is Key to Solving the Education Crisis Among Newly Displaced Afghan Children

KD: Janhvi, I imagine you’ve been quite busy with the IFERB. Can you explain what is IFERB?

JK: The COVID-19 pandemic forced many of us to rely on distance learning. But the reality is that for the majority of students worldwide, access to the internet, to computers and to tablets, is a luxury they cannot afford. We at EAA realised this early on, and that’s when we decided to invest in accessible, useful and tailor-made distant learning for all; and so began IFERB, or the Internet Free Education Resource Bank.

IFERB is a bank of resources EAA designed for NGOs, schools, educators, parents and students in global households that are not digitally connected, in homes with limited resources, or whose caregivers may be illiterate or unable to help them with their studies. IFERB is a whole approach as well, that focuses on relevant project-based and activity-based learning. When we implement with partners, we also offer training and work with them to adapt the resources to be relevant at a local level, and we offer them guides and help them with implementation. We even provide parents with tools to monitor the progress of their children for themselves. This is how you get sustainability on the ground and earn buy-in.