Location: Bosawas | Priorities: Education, Indigenous Peoples
The second phase of this project has received support from 60 million girls. 
This project is designed to address the poor quality education in the Bosawas region, the lack of availability of educational resources due to marginalization, and the absence of culturally and linguistically appropriate or adapted curriculum to promote preservation of mother-tongue language.
Education in the indigenous villages has historically been the poorest in the country. Since the installation of solar power in schools in four communities and the access to virtual libraries was granted in the spring of last year, 126 teachers from within those communities and further afield — some with very little formal teacher training — have been gathering and participating in workshops to improve pedagogical practices and learn how to leverage newly available virtual resources.
The use of technology in these marginalized communities means more than the replacement of often-scarce print materials with digital materials; it is the first time many schools and communities have access to an extensive collection of high-quality educational resources and an enormous library.
The TILE project will build on the momentum of the first phase of this project by providing Mobile Learning Labs (MLLs) to schools in three additional communities, bringing the number of communities reached up to seven. A class-set of laptops in each of the three schools will allow students to learn the skill of using technology while accessing resources and previously unavailable educational content (including materials in their Miskito mother-tongue). And while this skill may seem obvious or immaterial in many global contexts, for marginal indigenous communities, educational resources, technology, and the know-how to access it, is ground-breaking and transformative.
The project will also continue to provide technical and pedagogical capacity-building and ongoing support to schools and teachers in all seven communities. The goal is to maximize the potential for improved learning in teacher-led instructional time. Each community or school will also select a promising tech-savvy youth leader to act as the local technology facilitator, who will be trained to provide technical support and basic training to MLL users. MLLs will also be available for student self-directed learning after school with oversight by the technology facilitators.
Content for the virtual libraries which promotes improved education, gender equality and SRHR (sexual reproduction and health rights) will also be curated and developed in the local indigenous language.
“This innovation has the potential to accelerate the capacity in Nicaragua to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal of high-quality education available to all children and youth by 2030.”
— Nicaragua Ministry of Education
CLICK HERE to read the External Evaluation of the project conducted by a third party.
Change for Children partner organizations on this project are: 60 million girls, the University of the Autonomous Regions of the Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast (URACCAN), and the Indigenous Territorial Government (GTI) with accompaniment by the Nicaraguan Ministry of Education (MINED).
