HE Dr Mohammed Bin Abdelwahid Al Hamadi, the Minister of Education and Higher Education, Monday lauded the agreement signed by the Education Above All Foundation, Qatar Fund For Development (QFFD) and the Ministry of Education in the Republic of Kenya, which will be implemented by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Participating in the virtual event of signing the agreement, HE Al Hamadi said: "In my country; nothing makes us more proud than working with our partners to provide educational opportunities for boys and girls with special needs, and with vulnerable and marginalized children."

HE Al Hamadi added: "Qatar's contribution of more than $30 million over the next three years, will focus on providing educational opportunities in arid and semi-arid areas and the urban and informal settlements in Nairobi; Through Educate A Child (EAC), a global programme of EAA projects and partnerships to provide equitable basic education for 250,000 children in Kenya, as this project will address the fundamental issues that prevent out-of-school children from accessing education."

The programme will aim to increase the capacity and accountability of communities to enhance the enrolment and retention of OOSC. Moreover, the project seeks to ensure the provision of quality teaching and learning by implementing the alternative provision of education, building teachers capacities, renovating classrooms, constructing WASH facilities, and improving access to learning for children with disabilities to guarantee equitable access to education for all children enrolled in the project.   

To date, EAA's Educate A Child (EAC) programme, alongside its partners, has secured over 791,000 commitments to enrol OOSC into quality primary education in Kenya, with more than 540,000 OOSC already enrolled. In order to complement national education strategies and priorities, EAA works to address poverty, rehabilitates schools, provides psychosocial support and sports education, carries out targeted capacity-building initiatives and advocates for the education rights of the hardest-to-reach OOSC. In so doing, EAA continues to alleviate barriers to education, such as poverty, refugee status, gender discrimination, inadequate infrastructure, and challenging geographies.
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