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AET's support for non-formal education
There are many millions of young people in Africa who have never had the chance to go to school. It may be because they have grown up as children in countries where there have been long term civil wars and conflict, countries like Somalia and Sudan where schools have been destroyed. It may be because they are disabled or they may be refugees in another country or living as Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in camps in their own country. Although even in countries where there is no conflict many young nomads and pastoralists live in remote rural areas where there are no schools and in many other parts of Africa parents still stop their daughters from going to school. They make them stay at home to work and to look after younger children. The UN estimates that there are over 33 million children and young people in Africa who have never had the opportunity to go to school.
AET has devised a number of innovative approaches to help young people who cannot get formal education in schools, to still be able to receive a good basic education. Through the Somali Distance Education and Literacy Programme (SOMDEL) which AET runs in partnership with the BBC World Service, over 40,000 young people in Somalia and Somaliland have successfully completed literacy and basic education courses through a course which uses radio programmes, text books and afternoon classes which are held in 500 towns, rural villages and IDP camps.
In a number of countries the Trust also supports local authors to write booklets of folk tales, short stories and information on local issues in health, disease, disability, human rights and the environment. Over 100,000 copies of these locally written and printed supplementary literacy booklets have been published and distributed to students in non-formal education classes.
For those who have completed basic literacy courses the Trust supports its local partners in providing vocational and skills training courses. Courses in a wide range of subjects useful and relevant to the jobs young people want and to the employment available. For example courses in driving, carpentry, tailoring, health care and computing.