COCO's Schools for Life programme promotes community-led, community-run schools which are made up of 6 core elements:
Shelter: Ensuring that students have safe places to sleep and study.
Power: Installing solar panels to power lights and digital devices.
Water and Sanitation: Ensuring that students have access to safe, clean water for drinking, cleaning and cooking; hygienic toilets to use and somewhere to wash their hands.
Food: Helping schools to grow food which, within their feeding programmes, ensures that students receive at least 1 healthy, nutritious meal a day.
Sports and Recreation: Ensuring that students have the time and space to play and engage in sports.
Entrepreneurship: Helping students to develop practical skills in trades such as farming to help them when hey begin looking for jobs after they leave school.
Together with qualified teachers, this holistic model helps to ensure that children are able to access quality education which meets their needs within and beyond the classroom.
Six Key Elements
Watch our Schools for Life animation to find out more.
Elizabeth is 10 years old and is studying in class 4 at Focussa Primary School. She comes from the local community of Nangoma. When she is at home, Elizabeth does not get food in the afternoon, she has porridge in the late morning and then dinner. Elizabeth feels very lucky to be at school because she is provided breakfast and lunch, and then can have dinner at home.
Elizabeth likes English and Mathematics and she plans to become a teacher in the future. She explains, “I am not happy at home, I am completely happy when I am at school because I can meet friends, get food and study!”
Read about more children like Elizabeth in our news.