We Build Hope Through Education
Why Schools in Mozambique?
Mozambique has a population of 32 million in a geographic size slightly bigger than Alberta, with one of the lowest literacy rates on the continent at 47% for boys and 28% for girls.
More than half the country's children live in poverty.
Food scarcity and access to health care are among their most urgent problems, and access to education is a major issue. Without international intervention, the majority of student will continue to meet in the most rudimentary of classroom structures with little chance of ever breaking the cycle of poverty. While primary school is mandatory (K-grade 3), secondary school is not. There are only 18 schools that offer classes through to grade 12. Poverty is often why children can't continue their education with many children dropping out to go to work to help support their family. Sadly, girls drop out of school even sooner with only 11% going on to complete secondary school and less then 1% go to college.
The most urgent issue for schools there is classroom overcrowding and in 2018 the teacher-student ratio was 55.27 students per teacher. Teacher shortages have resulted in educators having to work double or even triple shifts to accommodate the number of students. The government and other aid organizations like UNICEF, are working to certify and train more teachers for their schools. Although most educators do their best, many simply do not have the time or resources to engage in professional development classes and other training that would make them more effective instructors - thus another goal is born to bring training to them from Canada. It is within this context that Steven’s Hope and our partners have made a long term commitment to supporting students and their teachers in Mozambique.
