*Photography by Jim Huylebroek / Save the Children

We have entered into a three-year strategic partnership with global NGO Save the Children.

Through our partnership, we hope to accelerate the recovery of the world’s educational landscape following the impact of COVID-19. In response to the largest education emergency in our lifetime, we will provide routes back into education for the most marginalised children through innovative, scalable solutions. We will provide pro-bono legal advice to Save the Children around the world as well as engage our employees through fundraising and volunteering opportunities.

We will also join the NGO as an inception partner for its Safe Back to School response and its new Catch up Clubs in a bid to tackle the biggest challenge to children’s education in our lifetime.

What we hope to achieve in the first year

 In July, we announced that we were funding a pilot of Catch Up Clubs, as part of Save the Children's Safe Back to School initiative, across 30 villages in Afghanistan. Shortly after, the political and security situation drastically changed. While some of their work, including the pilot Catch Up Clubs project, remains suspended, we’re helping them to meet the most pressing emergency needs of children at this time and  we continue to work with Save the Children to see how we can best support those in Afghanistan in these complex and uncertain times. 

We will continue to support Save the Children to implement Catch Up Clubs where they are most needed and will have the greatest impact, so will now be funding the pilot of this project in Myanmar. The combination of ongoing poverty, the economic and health impacts of COVID-19 and the ongoing political crisis and conflict have created significant barriers to a safe return to school for children in Myanmar. With less than 10% of households being able to provide online learning, the educational attainment gap is a huge concern for children.

Catch Up Clubs are a pioneering approach to getting children safely back to school, providing the boost that’s needed to get the most marginalised children back into education by:

• helping children regain fundamental reading and maths skills through accelerated learning, so they have a successful return to school
• integrating child protection approaches for learning facilitators to refer the most vulnerable children to receive the timely individual services and psychological support they need
• providing cash and voucher assistance to families who have been unable to send their children to school because of the economic impacts of COVID-19 and the need for children’s support in the household. 

“We are proud to support Save the Children which aims to make the world a better place for children and has made a real difference for the prospects of millions of young people internationally.” 
- Farmida Bi, Chair, Europe, Middle East and Asia

If you have any enquiries about the partnership please contact us.

About Save the Children

Save the Children exists to help every child reach their full potential. In more than 100 countries including the UK, we make sure children stay safe, healthy and learning, and change the future for good. We find new ways to reach children, no matter where they’re growing up. For a century, we’ve stood up for children’s rights and made sure their voices are heard. Find out more here.
 

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