Oct 10

Having visited a school it became clear that getting the children to school is only one part of the challenge as the schooling situation is very difficult! There is an average teacher to student ratio of 1:50; only 1 in 3 primary school teachers and 1 in 20 secondary teachers are on permanent state contracts; and 71% of teaching hours are delivered by unqualified teachers. Furthermore only 2 in 3 schools are considered to be in “acceptable” condition today; and in the future, to meet the growing demographic demand, 25,000 more schools will have to be built and staffed by 2030.

Now that EDEM is already significantly helping orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) by getting them to the schools, they have further project plans to help children maximise the value of their school attendance. Herve tells me that he really wants to set up a breakfast distribution for children and we also reviewed the idea of creating a “homework” space to assist the children to learn after school. To compensate for the lack of books and computers at school, their offices could become a school lending library with computer access. Even just offering basic sanitation (on the way to/from school) might encourage some children to go to school rather than stay at home…

Meanwhile the finance review is progressing – the first chapter of the report is drafted! We know what needs to be done to make the systems more robust so that donors can have greater confidence in the future when EDEM both increases current activities and starts new projects: both of which will require more funding. This type of work and intended benefit is very much in line with Accounting for International Development’s mission. Read more in the The Guardian: www.guardian.co.uk/social-enterprise-network-partner-zone-santander/safeguarding-overseas-charities-from-recession

Photo: What EDEM recently presented to 198 OVCs at the start of the school year...