Education Volunteer Award

Winner: Uzoamaka Onyinye Didigwu, national volunteer, Inclusive Education in Nigeria

Uzoamaka has contributed to training over 100 teachers on the use of sign language and has helped over 1000 learners and 28 volunteers to learn sign language. She also provided sign language updates for COVID-19 announcements during the first wave of the pandemic in Nigeria. This lead to the adoption of signers being used to communicate COVID-19 messaging by National Television in Nigeria.

Jean Claude Sebato, national volunteer, Building Learning Foundations in Rwanda 

Jean has been nominated for his work engaging with district leaders to ensure children with disabilities have access to quality schooling and are included in education planning as well as in school inspections. Jean also makes teaching and learning materials to help teachers facilitate learning for children with disabilities and has developed a sign language reference book for teachers.

Nida Sughra, national volunteer, Inclusive Education in Pakistan 

Nida has coordinated over 7 project activities in the past 3 months. She has been developing learning material for story telling activities and has trained more than 60 education champions. Nida has managed to reach over 20000 children in remote areas of Pakistan through education champions and community volunteers and has helped to enrol more than 1500 out of school children in school during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lucy Anyango, national volunteer, Kenya; Return to School COVID-19 response in Kenya

As a communication and media adviser in Kenya, Lucy has worked closely with community radio stations to spread the message about returning to school after closures due to COVID-19, working with community volunteers, parents and local education officials.

Alongside this, Lucy spread child safeguarding messages that were broadcasted to curb sexual and gender-based violence and teenage pregnancies that increased during this period while girls were out of school. Lucy helped to track down children who had been impacted by these issues and helped them to return to school.