One-line solution summary:
E-learning platforms will be utilized to educate adult girls and young women (AGYW) from the comfort of their homes.
Pitch your solution.
The presence of COVID 19 Epidemic has led to a lockdown in Uganda whereby schools are closed. Hence, AGYW are no longer having formal education and informal education from homes is affected too due to the restriction in the processes of preventing further COVID 19 scourge. That is why we are proposing E-learning platforms which will be utilized to continue with adult girls and young women’s education from the comfort of their homes. On the plus side, most of the content will be free and open source. All that will be required from parents’ personal computers and an internet bundle and AGYW will be good to go. Therefore, when scaled, it will offer content of lessons with multiple levels, provide lessons in different formats, add training in other languages. Furthermore, online lessons give students full control over their own learning and will be able to work at their own speed.
Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?
On 18th March 2020, the president of Uganda ordered the closure of all primary and secondary schools, university and other institutions of learning. The closure is coming to two months and opening of schools is not clear to Ugandans. Given the short notice, most schools did not have the foresight to come up with an impromptu holiday package for the estimated 15 million students now back at home. Students in Uganda are not studying; the teaching environment has become problematic as schools are closed due to the lockdown as a result of COVID 19 epidemic. The illiteracy levels are increasing among young people. Worst still, on-line studying has not been embraced fully into the curriculum of Uganda, the teaching system is irrelevant because it does not prepare students with tangible skills required for success in the real world and the competencies to define the future of the labor market are lacking. Most of the schools and teachers are in business and therefore, the real content of lessons are not emphasized well due to lack of concentration. Also, salaries to teachers are very low which invites teachers to have other income generating activities with less level of effort to teaching.
What is your solution?
Online learning is certainly the more effective option for AGYW, but it's also better for the environment. Online lessons equate to an average of 90% less energy and 85% fewer CO2 emissions per AGYW than traditional in person lessons. It is any type of learning that is accompanied by technology or by instructional practice that makes effective use of technology. It encompasses the application of a wide spectrum of practices including: blended and virtual learning. Blended learning, classroom technologies and e-textbooks in Mathematics, English, Science, social studies. Additionally, Sub Math, Agriculture, Biology, Chemistry, Christian Religious Education, Commerce, Computer Science, Economics, English, Fine Art, Foods & Nutrition, French, General Sciences, Geography, German, History, Home Economics, Kiswahili, Literature in English, Music, Physical Education, Physics, information communication and technology as well as entrepreneurship will be accessed. Students are able to move faster through areas of the lessons they feel comfortable with and also slower through those that they need a little more time on. This platform provides free and open-source education resources for students and teachers alike. During downloading the audio podcasts and video tutorials, one will be required to buy internet bundles we consider a fair deal for sustainability purposes only.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
One of the impacts is the Ugandan AGYW from the oppressed communities - 70% of total AGYW served will secure high proficiency in computer skills: typing, software and hardware maintenance, 85% of AGYW will be interested in pursuing a career in technology. Our volunteer ambassadors deployed to over 50 homes, working with 500 AGYW every week in learning fundamental browsing, download, uploading skills. AGYW will then level up to advanced skills training at companies’ offices and secure paid skilled internships. The illiteracy levels will reduce by 85%, completion of social-emotional growth, primary seven, high school and college graduation rates will be achieved at 90%. 98% of parents will take computer science very important to their AGYWs’ success as core subjects like math and English. We expect to win awards from various development partners for innovating ways of educating AGYW in this emergency period of COVID 19. Laptops to AGYW will be provided since the majority of them do not have access to computers at home. Hence, opportunities for students to build community and peer support, hugely increasing AGYWs’ outcomes. And partnerships created will improve the model, learn new tools, reach more AGYW and create a framework for ongoing scale.
Which dimension of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?
Increase the number of girls and young women participating in formal and informal learning and trainingExplain how the problem, your solution, and your solution’s target population relate to the Challenge and your selected dimension.
AGYW are not studying now which will be addressed by a model that is a coalition, bringing together the tech industry and teachers to ensure a 21st Centuary education. The use of volunteer ambassadors makes our solution economical and scalable in any tech hub. The focus will be on career readiness, AGYWs’ completion of the program with a solution that is not a piece of technology but a program to teach AGYW. The project will target the most marginalized girls and young women to access quality learning through on-line platforms which is in line with challenge Girls and Young Women.
What is your solution’s stage of development?
Pilot: An organization deploying a tested product, service, or business model in at least one communityIn what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Uganda, NigeriaWho is the primary delegate for your solution?
Rashid Mukaire, Secretary General
If you have additional video content that explains your solution, provide a YouTube or Vimeo link here:
Which of the following categories best describes your solution?
A new business model or processDescribe what makes your solution innovative.
Our model is a coalition which will bring together the tech industry, teachers, parents or guardians and adult girls and young women-AGYW as students to ensure a 21st C. education. The use of volunteer ambassadors will make the solution economical and scalable in any tech hub. Many peers prioritize exposure but with our focus on career readiness, our students with complete the program with a portfolio of technology they engage with. Our solution is not a piece of technology but a program to teach youth how to build it.
Describe the core technology that powers your solution.
Internet. Various services like Electronic Mail, World Wide Web (WWW), File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Chat Rooms, downloads, Mailing list, Instant Messaging, Chat, and News Groups will be adapted and used.
Provide evidence that this technology works.
Online or Internet evidence is digital evidence, with the same concerns as any evidence collected from a computer. The digital forensic field has for years followed court accepted methodologies for getting electronically stored information (ESI) admitted or accepted as evidence.
Please select the technologies currently used in your solution:
What is your theory of change?
Our volunteer ambassadors/teachers will be officially introduced and deployed in villages and homes to deliver the on-line learning programme which will be uploaded on laptops and always accessed freely for adult girls and young women as students at the comfort of their homes. As a non-profit, we raise our funds from institutions and individuals to provide free, critical programming to the communities with whom we partner. We shall ask parents and guardians to commit to the program by paying what they can, usually between $100 to $150 per year. We will provide laptops to advanced students and establish strategic partnerships to help meet additional needs of the community.
Select the key characteristics of your target population.
Which of the UN Sustainable Development Goals does your solution address?
In which countries do you currently operate?
In which countries will you be operating within the next year?
How many people does your solution currently serve? How many will it serve in one year? In five years?
1,500 and 7,500 adult girls and young women-AGYW in year one and year five respectively.
What are your goals within the next year and within the next five years?
Building a national team to scale within Iganga district, Uganda and acquiring on-line learning centers or hubs
What barriers currently exist for you to accomplish your goals in the next year and in the next five years?
The most limiting factor currently is our capacity. However, this is a necessary investment to manage and sustain our growth and serves as a check to scaling rapidly.
How do you plan to overcome these barriers?
As youth innovators, the quality of our program is our top priority, and the overall goal of the program is to be effective in the way to scale without compromising the integrity of our model.
What type of organization is your solution team?
NonprofitIf you selected Other, please explain here.
Not applicable
How many people work on your solution team?
Full Time
3
Part-time
3
Volunteers
50
How many years have you worked on your solution?
3 months
Why are you and your team well-positioned to deliver this solution?
We are to implement this program with IT Support where necessary from Elmot Ltd which is a leading ICT Consultancy and custom software application provider. Elmot offers reliable and innovative solutions to Government, NGOs, SMEs and large Private organizations. With operations in Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan Elmot provides Web Design, Web Hosting, Domains, custom software applications, IT Support, Mobile Solutions and IT Products to clients across the region. Elmot, a trusted, people oriented company, provides conducive work-environment and opportunity to lead & grow.
What organizations do you currently partner with, if any? How are you working with them?
It designed our website and hosting is also being done with it. Elmot as a company is our consultant for IT support in Uganda and we shall partner with it to obtain IT support when required during the implementation of this proposed project.
What is your business model?
The revenue model will be quite simple. It will involve the provision of very good quality learning materials at a very minimal cost of $100 per year from each homestead. Given that the project will not incur a lot of running costs, these prices have been assessed to be very competitive and will place project‘s innovation on a very high footing in terms of the provision and marketing of on-line learning for adult girls and young women-AGYW as students.
Do you primarily provide products or services directly to individuals, or to other organizations?
Individual consumers or stakeholders (B2C)What is your path to financial sustainability?
The project will employ a hybrid model for its sustainability. In order to scale this innovation, this project will employ a mix of donor/private/philanthropic and commercially generated funds. Aware that the target area is very large, it will be necessary to obtain funding from other development partners and the private sector. Generally the people of Iganga district and the neighboring districts will feel proud of and will identify themselves with on-line learning innovation as they will see it as ‘their own’. In marketing, this technical loyalty is very important and will boost the sales and therefore income of the project. Therefore, Struggle Against Poverty assumes that the demand for this service will be raised based on their excellent quality and yet they will be affordable to students and parents or guardians as they will be locally available. Hence, possibility of scaling to other locations. With a strong governing board, a growing team and tremendous momentum, our fundraising prospects are strong. While our philanthropic revenue is likely to grow, a sustainability goal is to build out more earned income strategies through corporate engagement programs. We will also leverage our growing presence in Iganga district in particular and Uganda as a country to generate more funds. To support this growth, we are continuing to invest in our development and operations departments. This includes IT Development Manager, a Corporate Partnerships Manager and Operations Manager.
Why are you applying to Solve?
As a convener of community by design, Struggle Against Poverty as an a community driven organization is compelled by opportunities that establish like-minded partnerships across sectors toward a common goal. We believe that it takes a village to address the complexities of institutional inequity, and we would be thrilled to join an intrepid group of leaders working to engender 21st Century learning and access in communities historically left out of digital education. As part of right-minded Solvers, we would be excited to more intentionally create partnerships that improve our model, learn new tools, reach more adult girls and young women-AGYW as students and create a framework for scale and replication of on-line learning.
In which of the following areas do you most need partners or support?
Please explain in more detail here.
To develop and maintain partnerships as a developmental strategy
What organizations would you like to partner with, and how would you like to partner with them?
MIT Solve for funding and more partnership linkages, Ugandan Internet services providers like Airtel, Africell, MTN which will be partnered with to provide cheap internet bundle rates through their social responsibility. This project is designed to be implemented on the basis of public-private partnership involving all local government, government aided and private school teachers, civil society, cultural, religious leaders and all community management institutions in the project areas at all levels. This is intended to instill ownership among all stakeholders in the management and propagation of the project in perpetuity.
Solution Team
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Mr Rashid Mukaire Secretary General, Struggle Against Poverty
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Solution Name:
On-Line learning Project.