Stories of change
In primary schools in Namayingo District, Uganda, enrollent has risen by between 28% and 474% since 2023—after communities began actively tracking which children had dropped out, speaking directly to parents, and holding local authorities accountable.
What began as a local concern over long waits for much needed speech therapy, grew into a powerful community-led advocacy success — bringing five extra therapists to help children in Drochia catch up with their peers.
Once, many children left school at lunchtime because their families could not afford to contribute to school meals. Today, an expanded program—shaped by sustained civil society advocacy—is helping ensure every child can stay in school, eat and learn.
Over 2 million people have been displaced in Burkina Faso. Civil society are helping children access education in their host communities and elevating local voices, turning individual struggles into collective, national change.
In communities across Liberia, activists working through the Educate HER coalition are ensuring that national commitments — notably the National Policy on Girls’ Education (NPGE) — do not remain on paper, but take root in homes, schools, and everyday community life.
Ghana is introducing a new policy to improve salaries and working conditions for teachers in rural areas — a reform championed for years by civil society, and seen as a potential solution to persistent teacher shortages and difficult learning conditions.
Youth in Tupiza, Bolivia, are taking the lead in confronting rising bullying and school violence. Supported by Education Out Loud, CEMSE and ACLO, student governments organized trainings, which empowered them to draft a municipal law to prevent and address school violence.
Political upheaval, economic instability, and conflict constantly test even the most carefully designed strategies. Yet across the region, education coalitions are finding ways to stay agile and relevant, reshaping their approaches to ensure learning continues despite the odds.
This community school near Kigali is practicing the inclusive education policies advocated by Rwanda Education for All Coalition (REFAC). Teacher training, parents’ engagement and inclusive teaching practices are helping learners perform better in class.
The Global Campaign for Education’s movement fingerprint on the Fortaleza Declaration from 2024 is celebrated as a win for civil society and a positive outcome of the support from Education Out Loud to GCE. But why does the Declaration matter?
On battered roads and against deep-rooted traditions, local advocates fight to bring girls safely back to school. Travel with us to Narok in Kenya, where Elimu Yetu members are combatting forced marriages and discrimination against girls.
Nash is 17 years old. She dreams of building a different future for herself than the one she stepped into while still just a child. Her wish now is that younger girls will not feel the same pressure to marry before they are ready.