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mcgovern-dole's 20th year celebration

Success Story: Under the Mango Tree

project video

AVSI _ USDAlogo

INTEGRATED SCHOOL FEEDING AND LITERACY Program

ivory coast

Phase I 2016-2021
PHASE II 2021-2026

International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program, McGovern-Dole
US Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service

about

The World Food Program (WFP), in partnership with AVSI, will continue the Integrated School Feeding and Literacy program Phase II to provide food, improve health and nutrition and promote literacy in all 613 targeted schools. The project is funded by the McGovern-Dole FY 2020 program of USDA and will be active for the next 5 years.
Together, with WFP and AVSI successfully implemented the USDA/McGovern-Dole FY2015 Program from 2016 to 2021 increasing the availability and quality of school meals for 150,000 student beneficiaries. As well as food rations were given to 10,000 girls from 4th and 5th grade to ensure their attendance in school. This initiative received the praises of the Ministry of Education and Alphabetization (MENA) in Cote d’Ivoire.
WFP awarded AVSI a sub-grant to carry out water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) activities and literacy promotion activities in the project schools.
Project districts include Cavally Region, Bafing Region, Bagoue, Poro, and Tcholongo Region, and Bounkani and Gontougo Region.

challenges

In Ivory Coast, the high number of children that suffer from illiteracy and malnutrition negatively affects the country as a whole.

Although access to primary education (CP1) has improved markedly, it is still the case that one third of children who reach CP1 abandon their education before the end of primary school. Literacy skills in the early grades are known to be predictors of future academic success, but reliable data on early grade reading competencies are scarce. 

Some key challenging factors include: the difficulty of access to schooling for girls and low-income populations, below level reading, writing, and arithmetic, as well as high repetition and high dropout rates.

 

Approach

AVSI’s goal is to continue improving the quality of education received by children in the Ivory Coast through an integrated set of literacy promotion activities.

Together with the Ministry of Education and Alphabetization (MENA), AVSI will improve teacher attendance through strengthening the monitoring system of teacher attendance and best practices. AVSI with the MENA will also review and create a teacher attendance policy to help guide teacher attendance on the national level.

Following the 5-year implementation, AVSI will review the material provided and assess the need for replacement of books and other materials. AVSI will ensure that all students in grades 1 and 2 have the necessary textbooks as well as supplement and replace worn out materials in the existing school libraries. 

AVSI will also improve the quality of teaching and curriculum on reading and writing by holding training sessions and fostering continued training held by the MENA. Improved and revised material will be delivered to all schools to allow teachers to have the best educational environment for their students.

AVSI will organize extracurricular activities to promote reading and writing. Students who are behind their grade level will have the opportunity to participate in remedial/catch-up classes to improve their reading skills. There will be reading, writing and math competitions in each school every year to incentivize a fun learning environment. Schools will also have book clubs, animation reading and other special activities for children to learn and love reading. A special attention will be given to girls through a focus discussion group promoting girls and their reading skills.

AVSI will focus on the involvement of the whole community, drawing from our experience which has shown that where families are involved, children participate more, learn more, and develop more completely.

In addition, AVSI will convey the importance of teacher-student relationships and the inclusion of social, cultural and recreational activities as important aspects in a child’s education. These factors contribute to a fun and welcoming environment, which facilitates the emergence of affectionate relationships, that in turn emphasize an environment of learning and an establishment of reading as a habit and important skill.

Relying on local resources and innovation will help to promote locally owned responses and the participation of school directors, teachers, parents and communities.

AVSI will promote the improvement of water, sanitation and hygiene in 150 of the targeted schools of the project. AVSI will facilitate sustainable access to drinking water by rehabilitating and/or establishing 150 Hydraulic structures. AVSI will also provide hand washing systems in the schools, train on soap making and hygiene habits and needs in both the schools and the community.  

The World Food Program (WFP), in partnership with AVSI, will continue the Integrated School Feeding and Literacy program Phase II to provide food, improve health and nutrition and promote literacy in all 613 targeted schools. The project is funded by the McGovern-Dole FY 2020 program of USDA and will be active for the next 5 years.
Together, with WFP and AVSI successfully implemented the USDA/McGovern-Dole FY2015 Program from 2016 to 2021 increasing the availability and quality of school meals for 150,000 student beneficiaries. As well as food rations were given to 10,000 girls from 4th and 5th grade to ensure their attendance in school. This initiative received the praises of the Ministry of Education and Alphabetization (MENA) in Cote d’Ivoire.
WFP awarded AVSI a sub-grant to carry out water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) activities and literacy promotion activities in the project schools.
Project districts include Cavally Region, Bafing Region, Bagoue, Poro, and Tcholongo Region, and Bounkani and Gontougo Region.

Resources:

PRESENTATION AT the comparative and international education society (CIES) conference (Atlanta, march 2017)