Global Projects

On a global level, we collaborate with international agencies, national governments, and local leaders to support the improvement of health and educational opportunities in communities around the world. Our public health and multichannel learning strategies foster whole-community approaches to children's healthy development by strengthening connections among parents, caregivers, teachers, health practitioners, and others.

A New Start for Out-of-School Teens in Haiti

EQUIP3/Haitian Out-of-School Youth Livelihood Initiative, or IDEJEN as the project is known locally, operates twelve youth centers. Each center provides 50 students between the ages of 15-20 with an education in basic reading, writing, and mathematics. Students also receive lessons in health, nutrition, conflict-resolution, and other life-skills. In addition, they learn a marketable trade such as sewing, woodworking, auto mechanics, handcrafts, hotel services, or agricultural businesses.

A Focus on Positives in Afghanistan

This op-ed, written by EDC’s Cornelia Janke, outlines positive changes taking place in education and community development. Janke directs EDC’s Literacy and Community Empowerment Program in Afghanistan.

Condoleezza Rice Visits Indonesian School

Al Ma’Muriyah Madrasah—a school participating in EDC’s Decentralized Basic Education (DBE 2) in Jakarta, Indonesia—hosted a visit from U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, last week. The school is one of the seven schools in Jakarta participating in the DBE education project, which is funded by USAID and managed by EDC’s International Education Systems Division.

Assistance to Basic Education

EDC has been selected by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as a lead organization to implement the Assistance to Basic Education (ABE/BE) initiative, USAID’s new Indefinite Quantity Contract mechanism to support quality basic education around the world.

Cookie Monster and Lola at Work in El Slavador

In its efforts to improve the care and education of young children in El Salvador, EDC teamed up with Sesame Workshop to create a series of public service announcements featuring Lola, a character from Plaza Sésamo, a Mexican adaptation of Sesame Street. The ads were part of the Early Childhood and Family Education (EDIFAM) project, an initiative designed for children through age 6, implemented by the Educational Quality Improvement Program-1 (EQUIP1) and led by EDC.

Tom Hanks, Freeplay Foundation Donate Radios to EDC Project in Tanzania

Academy-award winning actor Tom Hanks has donated $50,000 to the Freeplay Foundation. The foundation will use the donation to purchase 1,000 Lifeline radios for a primary school distance education program in Tanzania developed by EDC’s International Education Systems Division.

From Laos to Thailand

This pilot project is designed to gauge the success of applying a versatile video compact disc (VCD) technology to meet critical learning needs of young girls who cross the Mekong in search of a more exciting and financially rewarding life in Thailand.

Creating a Youth Employment Center

A few months before International Youth Parliament 2000 (IYP2000), I started a project called the Career Planning Center, with the aim of helping young professionals from the Balti region find a job.

Nutrition Project in China Produces Key Results

A six-school nutrition pilot project in China offered to more than 8,000 school staff, students and their families has produced significant improvements in their knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors, promoting optimism that the approach could benefit schools throughout China and around the world.