What We Do
Access to Education
USEDP expands access to education for the most vulnerable children living in poverty in Slums in Kenya. USEDP advocates for a quality education for every child, in line with SDG 4. USEDP prioritizes gender equality and access for vulnerable groups including those living in poverty, and ethnic and linguistic minorities. This is done through the Secondary Education Scholarships.
Out-of-School Initiative:
USEDP identifies children who are out of school and the barriers they face in accessing education.
Building schools
Building, restoring, and maintaining education facilities is critical to ensure more children can access school.
Teacher Training
Quality teaching is a priority area of USEDP. USEDP improves the quality of education by empowering teachers, ensuring they are qualified to handle vulnerable learners by providing training on Gender Responsive pedagogy and basic pedagogy skills. This improves learning outcomes and reduces the number of out-of-school children.
Lifeskills
USEDP provides Life Skills education in dedicated girl-friendly spaces with the goal of supporting girls most at risk of dropping out of school to gain critical life skills and establish strengthened peer support networks. Led by specially trained facilitators, girls receive Life Skills sessions designed to enhance their confidence, power and ability to make informed decisions about their own lives, as well as gain specific knowledge and skills in relation to sexual and reproductive health, violence prevention, and digital literacy. This is done using the school-based and holiday-based mentorship pieces of training.
Employment Opportunities
USEDP increases equitable participation in gender-responsive, market-based skills training to equip adolescent girls and young women with critical skills to improve their future life options and livelihoods. The project supports girls in accessing diploma-level technical and vocational courses at a number of Kenya National Technical Vocational Education Institutions through providing TVET scholarships.
Psychosocial Support
In addition to Life Skills education, USEDP is working to increase the availability and quality of trauma-informed psychosocial support at the school level in Mukuru Slums. The goal of this work is to ensure girls have access to necessary support and specialized support services where needed in order to protect their psychosocial well-being. A network of professional counsellors leads this work, providing direct counselling services to girls on a need basis, as well as strengthening the capacity of Guidance and Counseling departments and services within each of the supported schools and strengthening referral pathways to relevant service providers, including child protection and safeguarding reporting and response mechanisms, within the local ecosystem.