Finalist category: Tech4Good Education Award 2020
#T4Gontheedge
Education Award, Winner, 2020
Children on the Edge provide an innovative and engaging digital programme that enables refugee children in Bangladesh to connect beyond the camps they live in.
A new digital projection system is set to revolutionise children’s learning and communication in Bangladesh’s Kutupalong refugee camp and beyond.
Children on the Edge ispioneering digital learning to deliver meaningful education for 7,500 Rohingya refugee students and 1,400 slum dwelling children. The system not only brings learning alive and addresses the current language barrier, but introduces knowledge and experience beyond the camps and slum areas.
Trial digital lessons in 2019 prompted child after child to express joy and disbelief to finally be able to understand lessons being presented.
Children on the Edge has since distributed smartphones and battery-powered projectors to over 100 schools in the Kutupalong camp, Cox’s Bazar slum communities and Doharazi enclaves. Staff have created and dubbed digital educational content into the Rohingya language, which currently lacks a universally accepted script. This is sent to teachers’ smartphones, which slot into projectors to deliver 1.5 hours of digital lessons, twice a day across all classrooms.
To fully express themselves and tackle isolation, refugee and host community children are creating news videos using a digital platform they have named ‘Moja kids’. They have recorded dozens of ‘green screen’ and outdoor videos, which are shared back and forth between camp and community schools. They love to communicate with each other and showcase their talents.
John Littleton, Asia Regional Manager for Children on the Edge says, “Seeing themselves on screen was literally jaw dropping and resulted in entire classrooms jumping up to clap and cheer.”
The aim is to make this a global platform, for children living in challenging surroundings across the world, to express themselves, interact and learn about each other’s lives. Videos are published on Youtube and a new web platform, which will soon be inviting contributions from suitable projects in different countries.
Find out more at www.childrenontheedge.org
