Institute for Rural Education and Development

THE CHALLENGE:

Imagine your child starting elementary school never having seen a book. Studies show this puts children at a significant disadvantage during the most formative years of their lives.

According to the United Nations, whose Sustainable Development Goal #4 is Quality Education, “The reasons for lack of quality education are lack of adequately trained teachers, poor conditions of schools, and equity issues related to opportunities provided to rural children. For quality education to be provided to the children of impoverished families, investment is needed in educational scholarships, teacher training workshops, school building, and improvement of water and electricity access to schools.”

THE SOLUTION:

IREAD gives these most vulnerable children the chance to grow and develop through play and activity-based learning and an early start at building a brighter future. For more than a decade, IREAD has partnered with local community leaders and NGOs in rural Uganda and Northern Pakistan to unlock the potential of children aged 3 to 6 most impacted by poverty.

IREAD makes early childhood development (ECD) available by supporting community-based initiatives. IREAD builds ECD centres in communities where they donate the land and provide some of the local building materials and unskilled labour. IREAD also develops curriculum, trains teachers (most of whom are unemployed and otherwise lack the opportunity to earn a living), and supports volunteer Centre Management Committees that operate and manage their community-owned ECD centre.

IREAD ECD Centres in Uganda are certified by the Uganda Ministry of Education and follow their national ECD curriculum. Aga Khan Education Services monitors centres in Pakistan and follows the AKES curriculum.

IREAD’s work impacts thousands of young lives. Through the IREAD network of ECD centres (19 in Uganda and 43 in Northern Pakistan), 3,000+ children receive early learning each year.

PLANS FOR 2025

UGANDA: We have four priorities for 2025: 1) Some of our centres were built over a decade ago, and our school facilities need upgrades to ensure a safe and stimulating environment. 2) We believe investing in our educators is just as important as investing in our facilities. Equipping them with the latest training and resources will directly benefit our students. 3) We want IREAD to be a workplace of choice for our teachers. To make this a reality, equitable salary and benefits are key to retaining the best. 4) Additional tools to enhance learning and development will ensure our students thrive as they move through the IREAD program.

PAKISTAN: Our 2025 work in Pakistan is activating Phase III of a multi-year project through Aga Khan University’s Institute for Educational Development (AKU-IED) that brings community-based ECD to children in remote villages in Northern Pakistan. AKU-IED trains village women to teach early childhood education and fits and furnishes community spaces for classes in villages where demographics don’t support building an ECD centre. By the end of Phase III, there will be 53 centres in the Pakistan network.

THE DIFFERENCE EARLY LEARNING MAKES

Early childhood care and development has proven to be a highly effective way of strengthening society by ensuring its members live up to their full potential. Children who participate in early childhood education programs tend to be more successful in school, are more competent socially and emotionally, and show better verbal, intellectual, and physical development than those not enrolled in such programs. Parents of children who have attended IREAD ECD Centres report that their children are more confident than their peers, perform well in primary school, and are “very active, disciplined and hardworking.” Some parents report that because of their child's strong start at IREAD, they were placed directly into Grade 2.

THANK YOU FOR GIVING GENEROUSLY!

If you are passionate about giving children life-changing access to early learning, please consider a donation.

Our website has a library of videos to help you understand our work and the impact IREAD is making.