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DOT-COM Activity: Somaliland - Somali Interactive Radio Instruction Program (SIRIP)
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DOT: dot-EDU
Country: Somalia
Funder(s): USAID/REDSO/ESA/LPC
Short Description: The SIRIP project is to respond to the current educational needs of Somalis while also working toward the establishment of effective educational materials. Interactive Radio instruction (IRI) will be the primary response, where programs are developed to respond to the needs of access and quality. In addition to basic reading and math in Somali, the programs will contain life skills including health, conflict prevention and mediation, and democracy-building objectives. The pros and cons for homework on such tasks were discussed many times, and later it was decided it would be better to drop it altogether.
Phase/Type of Activity: Signed Award Status: Active
Start date: September 15, 2005 End Date: September 14, 2008
Partners:
Person(s) to contact
Full Description: Interactive radio instruction will be the primary response, where programs are developed to rapidly respond to needs of access and quality. Supplemental materials will accompany these programs, which will provide schools with those materials necessary for sound, primary-level instruction. Through a network of partners on the ground, EDC will distribute the materials and train teachers to teach using IRI as the primary means of providing effective instruction relevant to Somali children today. The IRI programs will enable teachers to teach in an interactive learning environment. In addition to basic reading and math in Somali, the programs will contain life skills including health, conflict prevention and mediation, and democracy-building objectives. One of the primary objectives of the program will be the education of girls, not only through the requirements of access to girls in the target schools but also through the role girls play in the radio programs as role models and the encouragement and direction given to teachers on a daily basis through the programs to include girls in activities and discussions.
Radio has been chosen as the primary means of instruction due to the success of the current program for Somalis in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. Radio is the primary means of communication among Somalis and the majority of the population has some access to radio. As an oral culture, radio is the most natural, sustainable means of delivery; particularly where there is difficulty in reaching populations that may be difficult to reach due to civil strife or due to the fact that their pastoralist lifestyle means that they may be moving from one area to another. The current programs developed in Ethiopia will also be ready for broadcast quickly. They and all new programs to be designed were developed with a greater-Somali audience in mind; they are Pan-Somali in that the language, accents, context, and content have been selected as comprehensible and relevant to all Somalis in the Horn.
During the three-year period of performance of this program, SIRIP will reach approximately 400,000 children with a comprehensive program that will improve skills in reading, math and life skills. A set of interactive radio instruction programs in reading, math, and life skills will be produced for grades 1-6. Capacity in scriptwriting for interactive radio instruction will be built with local educators; local producers will be trained in digital production. A network of public, private, and non-governmental organizations will be established through which schools will be identified, materials will be distributed and teachers will be trained. Girls will comprise 50% of the targeted schools. The role of girls as role-models within the programs and the information regarding the inclusion of girls in the learning process will be key in the design of new programs. In addition to the formal schools and non- governmental schools, Quranic schools will be invited to participate in the programs.
Update 1: Oct-Dec. 2005:
- Continued to do formative evaluations for literacy and math in Ethiopia (this will go on for another two months)
- Distributed radios to schools in the Shinile region of Ethiopia
- Travelled to Hargaisa, Somaliland, to meet with a potential partner (FPENS)
- Interviewed scriptwriters and other candidates for posts in Somaliland - Met with NGOs working in Somaliland (CARE)
- Visited ministries to inquire about process of registering EDC in Somaliland (Ministry of Education and Ministry of Planning)
- Short listed and identified potential EDC offices in Somaliland
- Developed an RFP that will go out to partners
- Developed brochures
- EDC has been registered as a non profit organization in Somaliland.
- Hire and moved Educational Advisor (expatriate) to Hargeisa.
- Rented an office in Hargeisa.
- Hold workshop for potential partners in Hargeisa.
- EDC consultant, Kathleen Letshabo is finalizing monitoring and evaluation plan to assess and track program progress.
- Open a local account.
Development Sector(s): Basic Education
ICT Intervention(s): Radio
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