This month, Link Ethiopia was invited to attend a government and NGO forum meeting organized by the Regional Education Bureau in SNNPR – the region where we’ve been delivering our girls’ education project since 2013.
Link was chosen by the bureau as one of the top five NGOs in the region for making a significant contribution to education and invited to share our success story at the meeting to inspire others. We were humbled to be chosen and recognized in this way.
At the meeting, we presented on the main aspects of our local girls’ education work that spans all areas of learning, from teaching and school management to community support and direct assistance to pupils.
To date, the school leadership teams of the 144 schools where Link operates have received continuous training to enable them to lead schools which are gender-, inclusion- and safeguarding-responsive. This is delivered through quality Training of Trainers, implemented by local professionals, by using adapted training manuals which are based on government curriculum.
Similarly, the project has delivered training to all schools’ community structures (Parent Teacher Student Associations, School Management Committees and Mother & Father groups) to help them better understand their roles and responsibilities and annually input into their School Improvement Plan. It is worth mentioning the key role of Mother and Father Groups,comprising of 12 mothers and 12 fathers per school, whose monthly gatherings have contributed to the return of six children who went missing and were at risk of child trafficking.
Girls, particularly girls with disabilities, were provided monthly bursaries in cash, school stationery and uniform, as well as sanitary items such as re-usable sanitary pads, which reduced the dropout rate of girls down to almost 2% in line with the government’s dropout benchmark.
Lastly Link constructed four secondary schools in remote districts of the region, which has provided access to many young girls as well as opened opportunities for adults to return to school after having dropped out, some as long ago as 1979! It really is never too late to access an education and pursue a path of life-long learning and continuous skills development.
We’re thrilled to be recognized by our government partners and remain committed to the very highest standards in our work.
