Global Charity Theirworld Announces US$2.85 Million Contribution to Education Cannot Wait, Launching Innovative Public-private Partnership

The global charity Theirworld announced today a new US$2.85 million (2.52 million euros) contribution to Education Cannot Wait to support the rapid deployment of education assistance to refugee, displaced and vulnerable children caught in some of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

This contribution was made possible through a US$3.57 million (3.15 million euros) grant from the Dutch Postcode Lottery to Theirworld for the global charity to support education in emergencies which was announced at the annual Goed Geld Gala in Amsterdam on Monday. Theirworld will direct US$2.85 million (2.52 million euros) of this generous grant to be delivered in partnership with Education Cannot Wait, launching a unique public-private partnership between the lottery,  and Education Cannot Wait. As part of the new partnership, Theirworld’s Safe Schools Framework will provide guidance on how investments in safe schools and learning environments can be made more effective.

“We are more impactful by working together, and the award by the Dutch Postcode Lottery will allow us to not only deliver education to the most marginalised children, but leverage-up the funding through campaigning to have a multiplier effect for children,” said Sarah Brown, Chair of Theirworld.

Image

 Education Cannot Wait brings together a wide coalition of partners. Through the Fund’s innovative investment modalities, bilateral and multilateral donors, foundations and companies, governments, United Nations agencies and civil society organizations work together to mobilize new education financing and to deploy joint programmes that span across humanitarian and development aid sectors.

“The funding will be used to provide rapid education assistance in places where it is needed most” said Justin van Fleet, Theirworld’s President.  “This new partnership will allow us to support thousands of children living in refugee camps who are not in school – where we need to provide education quickly so they are not part of the lost generation – while we also finding the longer-term solutions so all children can reach their full potential.”

Image

Gordon Brown, United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education & Chair of the ECW High-Level Steering Group (HLSG)

This contribution by Theirworld and the Dutch Postcode Lottery joins contributions by business partners through the Global Business Coalition for Education and Dubai Cares, another major education philanthropist. It is the second largest single private contribution to date to Education Cannot Wait – a new global fund that seeks to mobilize US$1.8 billion by 2021 to provide access to education for girls and boys living in war zones, conflict and disasters. Some of Theirworld’s funding will be placed in challenge grants to be matched by other private contributors to multiply the impact.

Image

“We are profoundly grateful to Theirworld for this contribution to Education Cannot Wait, and to the Dutch Postcode Lottery for making this possible. This is an important signal for other private foundations looking to support educational initiatives. It sets an example for other donors to follow through and we hope to leverage this funding with additional public-private partnerships”, said Yasmine Sherif, Director of Education Cannot Wait.

Education Cannot Wait’s investments have already reached more than 1 million children in crisis such as the recent tsunami in Indonesia, escalating violence in North-East Nigeria, ongoing conflicts in Syria,  Afghanistan and the Central African Republic, and massive refugee influxes in Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Uganda. However, much more remains to be done, with 75 million children in urgent need of educational support in emergencies and protracted crisis worldwide.

Image

Sigrid Kaag, Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation – Yasmine Sherif, Director of Education Cannot Wait – Annemiek Hoogenboom, Country Director People’s Postcode Lottery – Sarah Brown, Chair of Theirworld – Sigrid van Aken, Chief Operating Officer of Novamedia and a member of the boards of the Dutch Postcode Lottery

“Education needs to be this generation’s moonshot and this funding from the Postcode Lottery will allow us to mobilise enough people, partners and resources so that every refugee child is at school” said van Fleet.  “We will look for the hardest to reach children in emergencies and keep a watching brief on all hotspots where children’s education is at risk – from the Greek Aegean Islands, Venezuela and Syria to the Central African Republic and beyond.”

Image

After years of campaigning, including by Theirworld’s cohort of 1,000 Global Youth Ambassadors, the Education Cannot Wait fund was established in 2016 at the World Humanitarian Summit to provide education to the millions of children and youth who have lost out on education because of war, disasters and crisis. The Fund’s investments focus on increasing access to quality and equitable education in safe and protective learning environments for the most marginalized and vulnerable children, with a special attention to girls, children with disabilities and minorities.

“It is thanks to the voices of young people across the world that education is becoming a global priority for all of humanity – regardless of borders. Education Cannot Wait will quickly translate this generous funding into concrete delivery of education to refugee and displaced children with our new partner Theirworld,” said Sherif.