Innovating Education, Protecting Children in Malawi and Tanzania

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We’re excited to announce our most recent grants, awarding $204,000 to 15 community organizations supporting children and families in Africa! These grants focus on education and resilience initiatives in Malawi and Tanzania. Please welcome these Firelight partners and stay tuned for news and updates on their great work!

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Secondary Education

In February, we invited seven NGOs from Malawi to participate in a weeklong human-centered design workshop. We’ve just awarded two-month planning grants to six participants to use the skills they learned in the workshop to develop solutions that address problems faced by secondary school students in Malawi. At the end of the planning period, these organizations will pitch their ideas to a panel. Those with the most promising solutions will be invited to join our Innovations in Secondary Education Initiative and will receive four years of funding to implement their ideas.

Grants awarded to:

  • Creative Centre for Community Mobilisation (CRECCOM)
  • Advancing Girls' Education in Africa (AGE Africa)
  • Girls Empowerment Network (GENET)
  • Link Community Development Malawi (LCDM)
  • Namwera AIDS Coordinating Committee (NACC)
  • Foundation for Community Livelihood and Development (FOCOLD)

Namwera AIDS Coordinating Committee at a site visit in 2013

Safe Communities, Resilient Children

We're embarking on a new Resilience initiative focused on child protection and wellbeing in Tanzania. We've identified three promising new partners working to make communities safer for children in the Shinyanga District. These three organizations will be supported by a Lead Partner with extensive experience mentoring and building the capacity of local CBOs. We have also asked graduated partner Kwa Wazee to join the initiative as a Learning Partner and share their successful child protection strategies.

Meet the Firelight Lead Partners

Grants awarded to:

  • Organization of People Empowerment (OPE)
  • Agape Aids Control Programme (AACP)
  • Rafiki Social Development Organization (Rafiki-SDO)
  • Investing in Children and their Societies (ICS) - Lead Partner
  • Kwa Wazee - Learning Partner

Girls learning self-defense in a Kwa Wazee Tatu Tano group

Education

Our early childhood development and innovations in early learning initiatives are helping children prepare for and be successful in primary school. Four of our existing partners have been awarded grants to continue their work improving ECD services and learning outcomes for children in their communities.

Grants awarded to:

  • Amani Girls Home (AGH)
  • Organization for Community Development (OCODE)
  • Women Emancipation and Development Agency (WOMEDA)
  • Women Against AIDS in Kilimanjaro (KIWAKKUKI)

WOMEDA staff at a site visit in 2011

We are excited to support these 15 organizations in their efforts to improve education and safety for children!