From 2014 to 2018, World Education, Inc. implemented the education component of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)-funded McGovern-Dole Food For Education Program in partnership with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) with World Education as the sub-recipient.
MGD2014 aimed to reduce hunger and improve early grade reading outcomes for 1st and 2nd grade students in a cohort of 144 schools in the Alibori and Borgou regions of Northern Benin, some of the most -vulnerable regions in the country, with special attention placed on girls’ school enrollment and retention. To reach these goals, World Ed worked with the Government of Benin’s Institut National pour la Formation et la Recherche en Éducation (INFRE) to adapt the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) to the Beninese context and build the government’s capacity to analyze literacy levels and identify weaknesses in literacy instruction.
To improve literacy instruction in the classrooms, World Education provided training in early grade pedagogy and research-based reading instruction to Beninese teachers and school administrators to reach over 17,000 1st and 2nd grade students. World Ed worked to increase children’s enrollment, attendance, and retention in school by building the capacity of parents’ associations/mothers’ associations and local NGOs to raise awareness on the importance of education and conduct community censuses of school-age children.
The census workers and the mothers encouraged school enrollment, explained the importance of gender equity and stressed the value of study time, among other things. World Ed also supported mothers’ associations in recruiting local secondary schoolgirls to serve as mentors and role models to primary schoolgirls.
World Education strives to build lasting relationships with partners across diverse geographic regions and technical sectors to produce better education outcomes for all.
