Advocacy to Break the barriers children faced in accessing pre-primary education in hard-to-reach communities in Sierra Leone

Objectives/Background

Children in hard-to- reach communities in Sierra Leone face significant barriers to accessing pre-primary education. These barriers include;

• Geographical Isolation: Many communities are rural, remote, and lack infrastructure. distance to accessing Early childhood centres affect their eearly learning for school readiness.

**Economic challenges: Families often struggles with poverty, making early childhood education a low priority compared to immediate survival needs

*Limited facilities: There are few pre-primary schools, and those that exist often lack trained teachers, learning materials , and safe environment

• Cultural factors: In some areas awareness of the importance of early childhood education is low, leading to limited demand, and cultural perception to play also affect access to preschool education.

Objectives of the project;

The project seeks to advocate for breaking barriers to pre-primary education in Sierra Leone's hard-to-reach communities by:

1. Raising awareness among parents, caregivers, and community leaders about the importance of early childhood education

2. Strengthening advocacy with government and stakeholders to prioritze investment in pre-primary education.

3. Promoting equity by ensuring children in remote and marginalized communities haveaccess to quality early learning opportunities.

4. Building partnerships with NGOs, local authorities, and community groups to expand early childhood services

5. Encouraging policy reforms and empowering locals.

Context/Target Group

Target Group

*Children aged 3-5 years in hard to reach rural communities of Moyamba District who currently lack access to pre-primary education.

• Parents and Caregiver who need awareness and support to understand the importance of early childhood education

• Teacher and early childhood facilitators who require training and support to deliver quality pre-primary curriculum t

• Community leaders and local authorities who play a role in mobilizing resources and influencing education priorities

Target Communities ( Moyamba District, Gbagbatoke, kpetema, mokele etc)

Moyamba District , located in the Southern province of Sierra Leone, is characterized by;

*Remote villages and riverine communities with poor road networks and limited infrastruture.

• High poverty level make education less accessible and often depriofitized.

• Low literacy rates among adults, which contribute to limited awareness of the value of early childhood education

• Marginalized population, including children from farming and fishing household, who are often excluded from formal educationopportunities.and children from low income background are also deprived .

Implementation Approach

The project adopts a community-driven advocacy approach combined with stakeholder engagement:

1. Community Sensitization & Awareness

• Conduct dialogues, radio programs,and community meetings to highlight the importance of pre-primary education

• Mobilze parents and caregivers to support early learning.

1. Advocacy and Policy Engagement

• Work with district District councils offices and the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education to integrate pre-primary education into local education plans

• Advocate for increased budget allocation and teacher recruitment for early childhood education.

1. Capacity Building

• Train community-based facilitators and teachers in early childhood pedagogy.

• Provide basic teaching and learning materials adapted to local contexts

1. Partnership and Collaboration

• Engage NGOs, CSOs, and community-based organizations to expand service delivery.

• Strengthen collaboration with traditional leaders and local councils to ensure sustainability.

Monitoring and Evidence Generation

• Document challenges and successes to inform national -level advocacy.

• Use community feedback to refine approaches

Partnerships & Areas for Strengthening

Areas for Strengthen Partnership

The project seeks partnerships to enhance:

• Resource mobilization: Support for teaching materials, child-friendly spaces, infrastructure.

*Technical exoertise: Collaboration with organizations experienced in early childhood education curriculum development and teacher training.

• Policy advocacy: Joint efforts with coalitions to influence government priorities and secure funding.

• Community empowerment;

Strengthen local ownership through livelihood support and parent egagenent programs.

*Monitoring and evaluation: Building robust systems to track progress and measure impact.