“Girls can become unstoppable if they have digital skills”

As technology skills become more crucial in the workplace, girls and young women in many parts of the world face being marginalised and left behind. Theirworld’s Skills for Their Future programme aims to empower and unlock opportunity - providing girls aged 14 to 20 with digital, coding and entrepreneurship skills.

One of our projects is in Tanzania, where we work in partnership with the development organisation BRAC Tanzania. In the latest in our Spotlight On ... series, which features inspiring people from the world of education, we talk to Lemmy Lucian, a 27-year-old ICT Officer for the Skills for Their Future project. He teaches digital skills to girls in the Temeke district of Dar es Salaam.

Why is the Skills for Their Future programme so important?

It helps to reduce the existing digital divide in Tanzania. This impact will be realised in the future, as any person without digital skills will not be able to compete. This project creates a future for women in the tech industry and other professional areas.

The Tanzanian government has been providing ICT skills to some secondary schools. However, the number of schools and students getting these skills is still low compared to the actual need. The government still needs to be supported in helping schools to offer digital skills.

How has the pandemic impacted your work?

All the schools were closed, so it became difficult for girls to learn and the Skills for Their Future project was about to stop.

This forced us to change the mode of delivering our digital literacy training. BRAC and Theirworld provided tablets to the girls for learning while they were at home. I used the tablets to conduct online sessions. This supported young girls to have access to both digital skills and their school subjects.

Also, I started to deliver awareness on the pandemic to communities - to ensure that when the schools opened all the students would be able to return without losing any member of the programme. I had a chance to visit all the family members and the students in their homes, providing awareness on how they could ensure safety for themselves and their loved ones.

What keeps you motivated when challenges seem too large to overcome?

I was frustrated with the situation during the pandemic. I was afraid to use public transport to visit the project members, as they live in scattered areas where I needed to travel for a very long time. I was on the frontline, doing the best I could to protect the members of the project and their families from the pandemic.

Sometimes I felt like giving up on working in this vulnerable environment. But I kept believing that together as a team we could win against these difficult circumstances and then move into better times together with Theirworld, BRAC Tanzania and Skills for Their Future beneficiaries.

What achievements are you most proud of?

When the schools reopened, I worked hard to train the girls on digital skills - setting various teaching approaches that made them engaged with the course and passionate to learn.

We created a very competent class of girls who are well equipped in technology. This class changed everyone’s perception in the school community. These girls became the digital ambassadors for the school and every student wished to be enrolled in this project.

I feel proud, as I have created something positive in someone’s life that will not be forgotten for many years. This is what I love to do in my life.

What are your hopes for the future of the programme?

I hope it will be a transformative campaign in Tanzanian schools, as well as in the whole world. This programme does not only equip girls and young women with digital skills but also it breaks the roots of gender stereotyping that restrict access to technology for girls and young women in the community.

The programme speaks on behalf of the girls and young women all over the world - to ensure all girls are getting equal access to technology. Girls can become unstoppable if they have digital skills.

A longer version of this interview will appear on Theirworld’s website. Our work with BRAC Tanzania is made possible by the players of People's Postcode Lottery UK.

We cannot fail millions of children, says new GPE leader

Former Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete has taken over as leader of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), which has helped millions of children into school in low-income countries. He succeeds Julia Gillard, who spent seven years as Chair of the GPE.

Kikwete, who was honoured by Theirworld in 2017 for his outstanding contribution to global education, said: “Millions of children around the world are facing immense challenges in accessing quality education. We should not and cannot fail them.” 

Education innovators reach finals of global tech challenge 

At Theirworld, we know Kalibri and Ubongo well. They are two innovative and exciting ways of delivering education. Kalibri is a project partner in Theirworld's Skills for Their Future programme, while Ubongo is a finalist in our Education Innovation Awards 2021. We are thrilled that both have also been named as finalists in a global competition run by MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) to spot new tech-based solutions.

That’s one of the Five things you need to know this week about global education, our regular website roundup. We also feature a return to school in Bangladesh, where millions of children have been affected by one of the world’s longest education shutdowns.

Podcast: Sarah Brown on Theirworld’s education achievements

Theirworld Chair Sarah Brown speaks passionately about our work in a new episode of the popular podcast Postcards from Midlife. She talks to presenters Lorraine Candy and Trish Halpin about the role of our Global Youth Ambassadors, explains how our new school packs are teaching children about the global education crisis, and tells why a funding breakthrough will mean so much to child refugees landing on the Greek islands. Tune in here.

💬 Quote of the week 💬

"Access to a quality education prepares refugee students to take care of themselves and their communities, stepping up as leaders and role models and enabling rapid generational change which will in turn create a brighter future for their own children"

Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees - from the Education and Minority Groups section of The Key, Theirworld’s online resource for education advocates.

Did you know? 🤔

Increase wages by up to 50%

Children with good nutrition can increase their future wages by up to 50% and reduce the chance that they will experience poverty later in life by 33%.

From The Education Finance Playbook, a practical guide produced by Theirworld for governments, donors and philanthropists to fund quality, inclusive education for all by 2030.

📚 What we're reading this week.

➡️ Emmanuel Lomoro runs a business from one of the world's largest refugee camps in Uganda. He has been helped to flourish by the Social Innovation Academy - one of the first partners of the REACT platform, an initiative of the Global Business Coalition for Education. Learn more about how SIA helps young entrepreneurial refugees. Read more.

➡️ In a remote Indian village, a teacher has turned walls into blackboards and roads into classrooms to help tribal children affected by long school closures. Read the full story.

Share this newsletter with your friends and family.

As ever, do share our newsletter with anyone else you think would be interested in learning more about how we can address the global education crisis facing children - by forwarding this email, or by Twitter or Facebook:

And if you've received this newsletter from a friend - you can subscribe here 👈 

Thank you,

The Their News team