Learning

USAID continues to prioritize foundational reading skills and currently funds 19 early grade reading projects across sub-Saharan Africa.

In the DRC, ACCELERE!1 (A!1), a USAID and UKAID funded project implemented by Chemonics, has launched “Lecture pour la vie,” a local language interactive audio instruction radio pilot program in response to COVID-19 school closures.

Classroom teachers, principals, and specialists are embracing an understanding that they do not need to wait for diagnosis or identification of a child’s disability to teach responsively. And, they are putting that understanding to work.

Kenya implemented the Tusome Early Grade Reading Activity in 2014. It introduced interventions at the grade 1 level beginning in 2015. Taking its name from the Kiswahili word for “let’s read,” the Tusome program was a five-year, nationwide effort.

In 2010, less than ten percent of Kenya’s primary school-aged children were reading at the national level benchmarks. Ten years later, largely due to the success of the Tusome program, nearly 66 percent of grade two students now read at grade level.

USAID’s engagement in ICT4E dates back to the use of radio in the 1970s. The Agency’s commitment to ICT4E has only grown stronger with time and investments in the Internet, wireless networks, television, and mobile technologies.

Soma Umenye, a USAID reading project, teamed with the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC) and the Rwanda Education Board (REB) to lead a three-day workshop for more than 60 stakeholders and partners.

While some youth report struggling in leadership roles due to a perceived lack of experience, SafePlan Uganda and KCEO are showing that programs led by youth are successful not in spite of their leadership but because of it.