Stanford Learning, Design and Technology Program

Leveraging existing supply deliveries and distribution channels to increase access to learning in crisis or conflict settings where schooling is interrupted.

Project Name

Rethink Relief: Beyond Boxes

Location Implemented

Uganda

Technology Used

Hardware

Competition Entered

Technology to Support Education in Crises & Conflict Prize

Reading Skill Targeted

Pre-Reading

Status

Natural Disaster - 1st place, Winner

Amount Award

$5,000

Collaborators/Partners

Caritas Uganda Pader Branch, Tet Center, Community of Amoko-Lagwai Resilient, Africa Network, Makarere University, Transformative Learning Technologies Lab at Stanford Rethink Relief, part of the International Development Innovation Network headquartered at the MIT D-Lab

The Challenge

Natural disasters, health crises like Ebola, and country conflicts including the ongoing war in Syria can severely disrupt the delivery and quality of children’s education. Even after the conflict subsides, interruptions in education can have long-term consequences on student enrollment and retention in school, as well as their cognitive, academic and socio-emotional development.

The Big Idea

This initiative aims to leverage existing supply deliveries and distribution channels to increase access to learning in crisis or conflict settings where schooling is interrupted. Through creative re-use of packaging materials like cardboard boxes, communities can turn short-term deliveries into a platform for longer-term skill building. In partnership with regional innovation centers, learning resources can be adapted to the local context and integrated into supply boxes for delivery.