(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Educate A Child programme under Education Above All (EAA) Foundation has provided quality education for over 14.5mn out-of-school children so far, disclosed a senior official of the organisation.
“We have enrolled over 14.5mn out-of-school children into quality primary education in over 50 countries. The work continues and lots and lots of people are interested in us. And we work with over 50 organisations globally,” Mary Joy Pigozzi, chief education officer, EAA told Gulf Times.
Pigozzi was interacting with Gulf Times on the sidelines of the ongoing Second World Summit for Social Development (WSSD2) where EAA is showcasing its activities and taking part in several events of the summit.
According to the official, EAA has awarded more than 10,500 scholarships to disadvantaged youth to enable their pursuit of higher education and equipped nearly 4mn youth with skills and economic opportunities for employment since it was founded in 2012 by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser.
“I think what is good about having been around for more than a decade is that people know that there is one programme which is Educate A Child that focuses specifically on out-of-school children. We have that unified and unitary focus,” noted the official.
The official said that EAA has just started a new strategy. She explained:“What we are trying to do now is to try to link our different programmes a little more coherently. So we are looking to work in some countries where more than one programme will be working together. And we will be working in unison. So that is a slightly different approach than we have had in the past.
“The point of the new unified approach is to work with countries to support greater impact at the national level through our work across different levels of education to employment,” continued, Pigozzi.
She noted that EAA works with various organisations of the UN and have many partnerships with UN agencies such as Unicef, Unesco as well as UNDP.
“I think we will continue to work with them in various fields. And as we look at the relationships between education and other sectors, we are also likely to be involved with organisations such as World Food Programme,“ highlighted Pigozzi.
The chief education officer said that the EAA has been providing support for the families in terms of income generation through initiatives such as setting up small enterprises as it will help the families and enable them to support their children's education.
Pigozzi stated that the major challenges in providing education to the out of school children are related to the economic factors.“It is poverty and it has many faces. There are many ways that it can be overcome. There are certainly challenges but there are also many opportunities.
“Among the opportunities that are encouraging are the engagement of ministries in making more flexible education systems and the engagement of communities and families,” highlighted the official.
EAA will hold a session Thursday at the summit on the role of education as a key to social development.“The real focus is how education is a significant key to sustainable development. Education is the real foundation because what is realised through education is not just going to school but learning how to live,” added Pigozzi Foundation Educate A Child

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