The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Sudan

I was just informed that an image I shot in Sudan, for the Education Development Center was recently used in the Chronicle of Philanthropy in a story by Nicole Wallace.

It’s always rewarding to see my images being used to raise awareness about the work of my NGO clients!

Here’s a short summary of the article: and the link to the entire article

To improve education in southern Sudan, one nonprofit organization relies on a relatively old technology: the radio.

Nearly 150,000 students in 600 elementary schools receive instruction in English, math, their local language, and basic skills over the airwaves through Southern Sudan Interactive Radio Instruction, which is run by the Education Development Center, in Newton, Mass. Evaluations by the group found that students who received the radio instruction achieved educational gains 5 to 10 percent higher than in a control group of similar students.

The Education Development Center provides sites with rugged radios that can be wound up or recharged by means of a small solar panel. “Most of the schools have no electricity,” says Richard Trewby, who oversees the program.

Despite the growing excitement about the use of mobile technology in international-development work, Mr. Trewby sees a role for radio, which is inexpensive and can reach remote areas that still don’t receive cellphone service. What’s more, he says, the medium allows for the distribution of more complicated information.

I also did a blog post with images from Sudan during my work there last year. Here’s the content

Sudan Assignment Continues: EDC SSIRI project

I’ve spent the day documenting Education Development Center’s SSIRI  (Southern Sudan Interactive Radio Instruction). The project is a program of the Southern Sudan Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST). It is funded by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and administered by Education Development Center (EDC). Four SSIRI activities provide learning opportunities for children, adults, and teachers in Southern Sudan.

Working in place like Sudan, or just about anywhere that I work, means being flexible. Today we had itinerary that was completely planned out from 830 in the morning until 7 PM, but due to some torrential rain in the early morning hours, our schedule was doomed from the start. In Juba where most roads are unpaved and unmaintained, a rain storm means the cancellation of many normal activities for business people and students.

 

This morning we were to meet the minister of education. Using Education Development Center’s Toyota land cruiser, we were able to get to the minister’s office on time, but were informed that he was still trying to get into the office. After waiting for some time we decided to proceed with the rest of our schedule. We visited a school where the S. S.I R. I program was in effect. The photos that you see here are images of the classrooms will children during a radio lesson.

Here is some more information about EDC’s radio project:

THE LEARNING VILLAGE: IRI programs based on the Southern Sudanese Primary School Syllabus. The lessons are designed to complement classroom instruction in local language literacy, English language, mathematics, and life skills for Grades 1-4.

RABEA: Radio Based Education for All provides an excellent opportunity for Sudanese to learn or strengthen their English language skills.

 

PROFESSIONAL STUDIES FOR TEACHERS: A non-traditional distance learning course to improve the teaching practice in Southern Sudan. The programs are based on the MoEST in-service teacher education program.

ALTERNATIVE LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES: Some classes are unable to use the radio lessons because of broadcast schedule times. SSIRI provides alternative digital devices for these groups.