INCREASING ACCESS TO EDUCATION

INCREASING ACCESS TO EDUCATION USING A COMMUNITY-DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT MODEL

The Moniba Foundation designed this project to ensure that parents do not have to make the choice between a child’s education or putting food on the table. Targeting 600 vulnerable children in five peri-urban communities of Montserrado over a period of three years, Whein Town, Slip Way, Zayzay Community, Caldwell and VOA, the Moniba Foundation through a most vulnerable based assessment, will select 200 junior high students (per year) for three years from 2022 to 2024.

In Liberia, the first quarter of the semester typically has the highest number of children not attending school because of insufficient funds to pay fees and purchase basic supplies. This financial barrier has been documented in household surveys as a main barrier that, if removed, could guarantee the readiness of a child to access education. To this end, this project will provide financing for:

1. School Registration Fee’s
2. Two sets of School Uniforms and a pair of shoes
3. School Materials: Bookbags, Notebooks, Pens/Pencils and Geometry Sets

Most Vulnerable Based Assessment – The Selection Process –

With an estimated 70% of the population living on less than two United States dollars per day, any minor disruption to this flow of limited income makes it near impossible for parents or guardians to afford school related expenses for their child’s education as they would prioritize the basic needs of food, shelter and healthcare. These choices inevitably lead to absenteeism. Consequently, our target will be students who are currently in the most vulnerable category of dropping out of school: both female and male Students (ages 12 –14).

With the aim of the project to provide support for underprivileged and vulnerable children, because of the limitation of 40 students per community, we will implement a screening process, inclusive of a volunteer committee made up of school officials, community leaders and Moniba Foundation administrators in order to select those who are identified as the most vulnerable. Some of the criteria will include, but not be limited to:

1. Students who live in single parent homes
2. Children from families whose surviving parents are physically unable to work because of health challenges;
3. Orphaned children living with grand parents or guardians;
4. Orphaned children whose parents were victims of the Corona virus or Ebola Virus Disease (EVD);
5. Parent(s)/Guardian(s) under special circumstances who show beyond a reasonable doubt that they cannot afford school specific expenses.

The World Bank’s educational analysis also points to inequality in access to education for girls – with female education attainment behind males by 50%. For the Junior High bracket, roughly 30 percent of males complete junior high as opposed to 15 percent of females. Consequently, the breakdown of students selected for this project will be 60% girls and 40% boys.

Measuring Impact

The overarching objectives of this initiative is to remove financial barriers that prevent access to education and to ensure that students:

1. Begin the school year on time
2. Have the materials needed to attend and succeed in the classroom and;
3. Are not singled out or held out of class (by the teacher) for not having the proper dress code.

Monitoring and Evaluation

A monitoring and evaluation plan will be implemented by the volunteer committee members (VCM) to ensure that these objectives are reached through the following actions:

1. Each volunteer/committee member will be assigned 12 – 15 students in which to monitor
2. To ensure proper and more consistent class participation – our assigned VCM’s will receive monthly attendance records
3. Our VCM’s will conduct home visits if the student is absent for five days or more in any given month (during the first semester)