Lockdowns across Africa have already led to the most vulnerable children dropping out of school or falling behind in their education. Girls and children with disabilities, who already face more barriers to education, are the most affected. And with just 1.8% of Africans fully vaccinated, future lockdowns and school closures are likely.

So we’re launching an urgent crowdfunder this September, with one simple aim: keep children learning.

Traditional beliefs are preventing girls from going to school. In Uganda’s Kyaka II refugee settlement, 2 in every 5 girls are out of school. At home, girls are at risk of early pregnancy and child marriage. Some families have already sold their daughters into marriage, having lost everything during the pandemic.

Children with disabilities are falling behind their peers, even when they can return to school. While governments provide radio broadcasts, many families don’t have access to radios. And for children with disabilities like deafness, they are no help.

“Before lockdown, my two children with disabilities were very happy to attend school every day. It is now ten months since my children stopped going due to the restrictions in place. This has affected them because we leave them at home alone without anyone to support them and they have ended up forgetting even the little things they had learned before the pandemic”. One mother in Rwanda told us.

Together we can keep children learning

Every donation to the crowdfunder will be used to keep children learning, whether in school or at home. This is a vital time for children’s education. And we can’t just sit by as the most vulnerable miss out.

Raising £10,000 will mean we can work with our partners to adapt, so that children who have been so cruelly affected by the pandemic can get back to school and keep learning whatever the future holds.

That means when schools close, we’ll send Learning Support Assistants out to help children with disabilities in their homes. Your support will get children living in poverty back to school, by buying uniforms, books, pens, pencils and more! And your donation will help them stay in school too, by giving families training and opportunities to earn an income. No family should be faced with the choice of feeding their children or sending them to school. Will you please donate to our crowdfunder to ensure that they don’t have to?