Nakivale Refugee Settlement is located in Southwestern Uganda hosting over 160,000 refugees with about 20,000 new arrivals since May 2022 - due to the current ongoing war in Democratic Republic of Congo.
For school going age children, a disruption in their education is a huge stumbling block to their future. Considering that they come from a Francophone country, they require more extra support to fit into the Ugandan classroom where English is a medium of instruction.
The NGO War Child Holland’s innovative digital learning approach ‘Can’t Wait to Learn’ is not only a timely solution but a tailored solution to address literacy and numeracy skills for refugee learners providing an opportunity for such learners to catch-up, fit into the Ugandan education system and reintegrate back into formal schooling.
With its gaming Technology, the approach is motivational and makes learning interesting and fun, thus acting as a pull factor for refugee learners to enroll back to school.
To refugee learners, using a tablet to learn is a privilege and it’s the reason “they wake up every day to go to school and stay in school’’.
Playing games on this tablet, has not only helped me improve reading and maths, but makes me forget the traumatic experiences of war.
This story is part of a photo exhibition that will be showcased at the World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education from 14 to 16 November 2022 Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
The Conference will reaffirm the right of every young child to quality care and education from birth. It will urge Member States to expand their commitment and investment in ensuring that access of all girls and boys to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education.
- More on UNESCO’s work in early childhood care and education
