Mercy Corps

SAFE TO LEARN

Mercy Corps works to empower people to survive through crisis, build better lives, and transform their communities with solutions in education, agriculture, disaster preparedness, economic opportunity, conflict management and resilience in more than 40 countries since 1979. Through Safe to Learn funding, the organisation will implement their Blossom Project, which is based on evidence generated by the Mercy Corps' Supporting the Education of Marginalised Girls in Kailali (STEM) Project funded by DFID in the Kailali and Kanchanpur districts of Nepal.

Mercy Corps will work with a national non-governmental organisation, Backward Society Education, to reach new geographic areas and BBC Media Action and Sustainable Development Goals Studio. To do so, the project will conduct media campaigns to support community sensitisation.

The project aims to foster a safe and supportive educational environment for 24,500 children in 70 schools, by:

  1. Working with headteachers to develop safer school environment policies;
  2. Building capacities of teachers on safeguarding, complaint mechanisms, positive discipline and classroom management at the school level;
  3. Establishing Student Life Clubs to promote protection rights and safeguarding;
  4. Creating Voice Boxes feedback mechanisms;
  5. Establishing Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) to promote the welfare of children at home, in schools and in communities; and
  6. Organising a national-level media dialogue to raise awareness on child safeguarding.