RISE UP
Unlocking the power of communities to help more children learn
More children are in school today than ever before. The challenge now is ensuring they learn.
Across Africa, 8 in 10 children are completing primary school, but just 1 in 10 are meeting basic learning outcomes, holding them back from future learning, work and opportunity.
Ghana is leading the way in West Africa when it comes to time spent in school. Children can expect to spend around 12 years in education. Yet those 12 years currently translate into just 6 years of meaningful learning, showing that being in school does not necessarily mean gaining the knowledge and skills needed to thrive. This amount of effective learning per year is lower than in some of the world’s most fragile education contexts, including South Sudan and Afghanistan.
Governments are investing and schools are working hard, but not all answers can be found in the classroom. There are many reasons why children don’t learn as much as they could – including whether they start school at the right age, how regularly they attend and how supportive their families and communities are.
With nearly 90% of a child’s time spent outside of school, families and communities hold the key to increasing learning outcomes and helping children fulfil their potential.
“I see a strong appetite for communities to build their dignity and drive their own development. With the right knowledge, motivation and practical tools, they can ensure every child’s right to a quality education.”
– David Pwalua, AfriKids’ Country Director in Ghana
introducinG:
RISE UP
AfriKids’ new flagship programme, Rise Up, is built on nearly 25 years’ experience of locally-led programming, working hand in hand with communities in Ghana to give children stronger starts and brighter futures.
Working beyond the classroom to engage entire communities in supporting meaningful education for every child, Rise Up is a low-cost, high-impact model that listens to local people and supports them to make sustainable changes themselves, increasing quality learning time for children every week.
Rise Up does this by:
- Equipping caregivers to support children’s learning at home and in school
- Building caregivers’ financial security to support their children’s education
- Fostering collaboration between schools and communities
- Developing community leadership for education
- Inspiring a movement for learning across the entire community
Our goal is to generate evidence on what works and take it to scale, supporting our vision of a prosperous and thriving world without poverty, where every child grows up in a community that champions their rights and helps them thrive.
“We all share a vision of wanting to make change happen for every child. The key to change is stronger collaboration between caregivers, schools and local leaders, so communities can actively support every child to learn.”
– Linda Marfoh, AfriKids’ Director of Operations
By 2050, Africa will be home to 40% of the world’s children and 25% of the global workforce. now is the time to ensure tomorrow’s leaders are learning.
HOW RISE UP WORKS: BUILDING COMMUNITIES WHO CHAMPION CHILDREN’S LEARNING
For more than 20 years, AfriKids has worked alongside communities in northern Ghana to tackle the barriers holding children back from learning. One lesson has been clear:
Lasting change happens when communities lead it themselves.
Rise Up strengthens the support systems around a child’s learning by equipping and bringing together families, local leaders, schools and communities.
EQUIPPING PARENTS TO SUPPORT THEIR CHILD’S LEARNING
Through Guardian Learning Circles, parents and caregivers come together in small community groups to support their children’s learning. A training programme and 1:1 mentoring equips guardians to support their children’s learning at home, prepare them to learn in school, and build financial capability to support education. Topics include: the value of education, bonding with your child, affordable learning techniques for daily life, climate education, financial literacy and saving, and child protection.
STRENGTHENING COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP & SCHOOL COLLABORATION
Working with key influencers who determine whether children learn or not, including Chiefs, Queen Mothers, religious leaders, youth leaders and local government representatives. Through monthly workshops, leaders learn their role in education: encouraging caregivers to send children to school, working with schools to identify challenges and make improvement action plans, and utilising Community Education Trust Funds to invest in education systems.
INSPIRING A MOVEMENT FOR LEARNING
Community, radio and youth-led education awareness campaigns that reach entire communities encouraging every child to go to school and every community member to see their role in a child’s learning.
TOGETHER, THIS CREATES CHANGE
These approaches create a coordinated, community-led system that supports children’s learning consistently, at school, at home, and throughout daily life.
learning, not schooling
Rise Up goes beyond school enrolment to ensure children receive an education that is rooted and relevant to their communities and provides the foundational skills they need to thrive.
A MODEL READY FOR SCALE
Rise Up is being piloted in northern Ghana, where children in rural communities face some of the greatest barriers to learning. But our ambition reaches far beyond one region. The pilot is designed to generate practical, evidence-driven solutions that will inform national education policy and contribute to global learning on what works best for children.
Working with a leading independent research partner and overseen by a National Steering Committee of experts, Rise Up combines community leadership with rigorous research and accountability.
Answering the question: What difference do supportive families and communities make to children learning?
what we’re testing:
- How community collaboration improves learning outcomes
- The role families and communities can play at scale
- Which approaches deliver the greatest impact for foundational learning, most cost-effectively.
By learning and adapting, Rise Up aims to build scalable solutions that can shape future investment and strengthen education systems for the long term.
WHAT MAKES RISE UP DIFFERENT?
IT IS TRULY LOCALLY-LED
As we have done from day one, Rise Up is designed with, by and for local people. Activities are lead by a network of local community champions trained by AfriKids, helping to sustain change beyond the project.
IT’S A COST-EFFECTIVE, SCALABLE SOLUTION
Harnessing the power of existing community systems and strengths to embed changes that last, from this generation to the next. Locally-led; Designed to scale; Built for millions.
IT GENERATES VITAL MISSING EVIDENCE
Robust research and empirical evidence proving the power of communities and recognising their place as vital partners in the education system.
Rise Up will generate robust evidence and a practical model that proves that when external funding falls short, even the most low-resourced communities have the power to ensure that every child has the chance to learn – not just a small number reached through externally driven programmes.
Powered by partnership
Rise Up is made possible because of incredible partners standing behind it; organisations and supporters who share our belief in the power of community in shaping every child’s future.
Together, we are investing in community-led solutions that are transforming the way children learn, both in and beyond the classroom.
JOIN THE MOVEMENT
You can help spark lasting change for children, families and communities across northern Ghana.
Join AfriKids and be part of a growing movement transforming education through the power of community.
