Poverty creates a paradox. Although education is the best pathway out of poverty, poverty is the #1 reason a girl misses out on an education.
That’s why, in Sierra Leone, 1 in 3 girls drops out of school by age 12. Then the cycle of hardship and missed opportunity continues.
With your support, we developed an evidence-based, data-driven program to help girls in Sierra Leone stay In School — and we’re working hard to expand this program to other countries!
But how does it work?
The 5 steps of In School:
- Identify girls who are most vulnerable to dropping out
In Sierra Leone, primary schools use our software, which we designed in partnership with the national Ministry of Education, to track attendance and other key data points — a significant upgrade from the typical paper attendance records. This data helps school leaders identify girls who are missing school and are at risk of dropping out.
- Connect with caregivers
Our In School outreach coordinator meets with each girl and her family to discuss her goals and challenges and the expectations of the program. Then we share how the family can access support services and use the mobile money platform.
- Provide monthly cash assistance
Each month, the family receives a mobile cash transfer to offset their household expenses and help their girl stay In School. (The first month is a double payment to help cover back-to-school expenses.) Read more about how families spend the cash.
- Monitor attendance
The cash is conditional; to receive it, girls must attend school regularly.
- Offer wraparound support
If a girl misses school frequently, our trusted local staff members check in with her. Then they refer her family to additional support services such as health care or disability support as needed.
WHY CASH ASSISTANCE?
Independent research, along with studies conducted by our In School team at Corus International, consistently shows that cash assistance can significantly increase school enrollment in communities affected by extreme poverty or emergencies. In South Sudan, Corus incorporated cash assistance into a holistic program that QUADRUPLED GIRLS’ ENROLLMENT between 2014 and 2021. Now we’re seeing it work in Sierra Leone!