Save for School / Educate First

October 21, 2013

In partnership with EAC, the International Rescue Committee’s Educate First project works to increase opportunities for a quality primary education for out of school children in Côte d’Ivoire who were displaced by conflict in recent years and who live in situations of extreme poverty.

The Save for School / Educate First project targets aims to provide 20,160 out of school children in Western Côte d’Ivoire with quality primary education through three areas of intervention: the Save for School program, the rehabilitation of school buildings, and the Healing Classrooms program.

Through the Save for Schools project, families with out of school children form village savings and loan associations (VSLAs) that enable members to save money and obtain small loans for economic activities. Simultaneously, families follow a 14-session discussion series that helps them send their children to local schools in collaboration with local authorities.

Through its Social Rehabilitation program, IRC is rehabilitating 24 local schools that were damaged during the 2011 crisis and that are situated close to VSLA groups. The IRC is also equipping teachers with the skills to provide a supportive learning environment to students through its Healing Classroom program.