By Bola Adedugbe | Youth & Agriculture Manager
Summary
This report gives an update on the Support 550 Displaced Girl Children Back to School project. It talks about recent changes, measurable results, operational changes, and the most important things that need to be done. This update builds on previous successes in enrollment, nutrition, and psychosocial support. It focuses on progress since the last report, signs of learning and resilience, areas that need immediate attention, and a brief plan for implementation for the next quarter.
Important things that have happened since the last report
Enrollment continued to rise: Enrollment went from 70% to 78% of the project's goal as outreach efforts increased and targeted follow-ups dealt with the problem of girls who had just enrolled not showing up to school.
Better attendance: The average daily attendance of enrolled girls went up by 9 percentage points, and partner schools where meal distribution was timed with class schedules had fewer students who were late.
Diversified nutrition delivery: To cut down on repeated delays in getting food to people, we tried out community meal hubs in three neighborhoods that are hard to get to. These hubs cut down on late meal deliveries by 85% and increased the number of people eating meals on site.
More girls signed up for counseling, bringing the total to 62%.
Strengthened local partnerships: Two more schools and a women's cooperative joined the partnership network. This made it easier to get supplies and created chances for people in the area to make money through project activities.
Outcomes and indicators that were measured
Enrollment: 429 girls signed up, which is 78% of the 550 goal.
Regular attendance: The average daily attendance for girls who are enrolled is now 86%, up from 77%.
Nutrition coverage: 100% of girls who are enrolled get at least one fortified meal on school days. Community hubs provide meals to 18% of daily meal recipients.
62% (about 266) of the girls got individual or group counseling, and 4 mentorship groups were set up to help 120 girls.
Engagement with the community: 55% of outreach follow-ups are now led by local volunteers.
Problems that keep happening (and how they are being dealt with)
Transportation and access: Community hubs cut down on delays, but there was a supply shortage once when local vendors couldn't fill orders. Mitigation: made a temporary list of vendors and extra stock at the hubs.
Cultural resistance: Some families still don't want to send their girls to school every day. To help, they made more home visits, got respected community elders to speak out, and offered incentives (like hygiene kits) for regular attendance.
Predictable funding: When we don't have enough predictable funding, we can't buy basic supplies ahead of time. Mitigation: worked out short-term credit lines with suppliers and looked into ways for local businesses to share costs.
Actions and priorities for the next three months
Close the enrollment gap: Use mobile teams, community champions, and school open days with on-site registration to reach out to the last 22%.
Scale community hubs: Add two more locations to the pilot and set minimum buffer stocks to make sure there are no supply interruptions.
Make mentoring and learning support stronger: Expand mentorship groups to include 300 girls and add extra tutoring sessions for girls who are falling behind in school.
Financial sustainability: Start a small local fundraising campaign and look for short-term bridge funding to make sure meals are always available.
Monitoring and evaluation: Hold a quarterly learning review with partner schools and community members; make indicators more precise so that they better show learning outcomes (for example, reading fluency and numeracy spot checks).
Advocacy and behavior change: Start a second round of community dialogues led by male and female champions to break down any remaining cultural barriers.
Conclusion
Progress since the last report shows that community-centered changes that are flexible, like community meal hubs, mobile follow-up teams, and local procurement, are making a difference in enrollment, attendance, and psychosocial uptake. There are still problems, especially with cultural resistance and funding predictability. In the next quarter, the main goals will be to close the enrollment gap, expand successful pilots, and make protection referral networks official. The project is in a good position to get more displaced girls back to school and keep the gains in nutrition and learning going with targeted resources and continued community partnership.
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By Bola Adedugbe | Youth & Agriculture Manager
By Bola Adedugbe | Youth & Agriculture Researcher
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