PlayMatters: Learning through Play for children in East Africa

The LEGO Foundation has significantly increased its investment for children affected by humanitarian crises by announcing the second US$100 million grant. This new grant, awarded to a consortium led by the International Rescue Committee (IRC), will positively impact learning experiences of nearly a million children between age 3-12+ years, impacted by the humanitarian crises in east Africa. This major initiative will improve education outcomes for approximately 800,000 refugee children in Ethiopia and Uganda, reaching approximately 10,000 pre-primary and primary school teachers and education personnel and 170,000 primary caregivers, all of who will receive training to engage in learning through play with children who have faced adversities.

There are more than 70 million displaced people in the world and almost half of them are children. Most of these displaced peoples spend on an average 10 years of their lives living as refugees. This means millions of children are spend a significant part of their childhoods without access to education and play opportunities. Play is a powerful contributor to children’s positive development and research shows that play-based pre-primary and primary learning experiences can build the skills needed for holistic development, mitigate the impact of adversity and support the resilience children need to thrive. East Africa has been suffering under persistent conflicts for the last 30 years, resulting in ongoing displacement of millions of people. Yet, donor and media attention has largely ceased.

Focus Geographies

Early childhood

Education