COWF-Abwaab
Remote Education Program
Gifting education, regardless of a student’s ability to pay,
residency, gender, age or geographic boundaries.
Children of War Foundation's (COWF) mission is to deliver access to global health and education to communities affected by poverty, war, natural disaster, discrimination, climate change, isolation, and migration challenges. COWF envisions a world where disadvantaged children succeed in life in an environment that promotes their health, social, cultural and moral development. Thanks to our care and commitment to youth worldwide, progress is being made on all 17 Sustainable Development Goals, simultaneously.
Statement submitted by Children of War Foundation, a non-governmental organization in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council*
Through COWF field coordination and dissemination of information via social networks and online platforms, the organization has been and is solving for access and rights to education for girls who fall out of school due to displacement, cultural barriers, discrimination, transitional periods, and many other reasons. Many fall out when entering secondary education. This transition is particularly a critical challenge to address sooner than later, as adolescent girls who are out of school are more likely not to return, marry early, and or end up working low skilled and low paying (if any) jobs. Data shows that girls face even more gender discrimination not being educated, and in response to numerous barriers, including cultural and social. It is evident that girls who can lift themselves through the power of education, can make informed decisions, decide what cultural norms they choose to adopt, can lift their families and communities out of poverty, as well as adapt and overcome adversity when endured. Evidence also shows that secondary education empowers girls with the knowledge to work through adolescent challenges, communication, life skills, problem-solving, critical thinking, and thus enabling resiliency to further understand human rights, undo poverty and respond to adversity to protect themselves and educate families.
Meet a Few Of
Our Newest Students
Celebrating the Importance of Women & Girls Education, reaching our goal and breaking barriers through innovation, technology and educationIn Preparation for COWF’s participation at the UN 67th Commission on Women March 2023.
95 additional waitlisted students (62% female) were enrolled in October 2022, bringing our number of students to 252.
BUSHRA
HANAN
FATMEH
SEBA
LILAS
MALA
MARWA
HALA
ALMA
DAHB
MALAK
NASRA
AREEN
NOHA
DUA’A
JANA
REVAN
MAISREEM
NOOR
SHIREEN
Background
COWF- ABWAAB Remote Education Program
Refugee and vulnerable host community children continue to face high barriers to education, including overcrowded classrooms, long travel distances to the nearby school, low quality of education and financial constraints. The COVID-19 pandemic and related school closures and socioeconomic impacts have disproportionately affected vulnerable young people. In August 2020, a collaboration was established between COWF and Abwaab to support vulnerable children with access to high quality education, through Abwaab’s online learning platform. The pilot reached 31 students. The program was then scaled to over 100 students.
Education Challenges in MENAP Region
37M
60%
50%
0.8T
COVID-19
Children with disabilities
Program Objectives
COWF- ABWAAB Remote Education Program
The program provides a curated EdTech solution aligned to the national curriculum to ensure high quality education and support in improving learning outcomes, combined with an extensive community mobilization and support component. The program allows for real-time feedback on engagement and response by COWF staff. The program’s objectives are to:
Provide marginalized and displaced students with a second opportunity to learn and complete their education
Prepare students to sit for their final secondary school exams
Help students overcome barriers to education through an online learning
Program Design
Students were identified through COWF outreach
COWF developed outreach and field coordination protocols for program development, secured funding for new tablets with internet access, and subscriptions on Abwaab’s platform
Students were then placed in appropriate grade levels through onsite competency testing, and taught how to navigate the platform
Ongoing monitoring, feedback and impact measurement
Students’ Learning Journey on Abwaab
Learns
Content tailored to your school curriculum.
Solve
Questions & get instant feedback.
Track
Your progress & performance.
Compete
For a spot in the leaderboard.
Ask
A tutor any question.
Choose Your Curriculum & Grade
The platform allows students to learn according to their grades and curricula through self-paced and
personalized learning journeys, which supports their confidence and engagement.
Choose Your Subjects
Students can choose to learn any (or all) subjects within their curriculum on the platform.
Physics
English
Science
Social Studies
Biology
Geography
History
Psychology
Philosophy
Chemistry
Math
Arabic
Impact Measurement
Thanks to major benefactor Unique Zan Foundation, this partnership gave displaced and vulnerable children in grades 7-12 access to high quality education through Abwaab's online learning platform.
Students were identified through COWF outreach
COWF developed outreach and field coordination protocols for program development, secured funding for new tablets with internet access, and subscriptions on Abwaab’s platform
Students were then placed in appropriate grade levels through onsite competency testing, and taught how to navigate the platform
Ongoing monitoring, feedback and impact measurement
Impact Report 2022
Useful For Understanding School Material
- 86% of students found the platform extremely helpful in understanding difficult concepts
- Students used the platform in different ways, with most common way being to help them in understanding school material.
Helpful In Improving Academic Performance
- 98% of students reported having passed their school exams.
- On a scale of 1-5, the average student rating for their improvement in academic performance was 4.6.
- Students based this rating on a number of factors, with the most prevalent being improvement in grades at school, followed by their own level of understanding of lessons.
Improved Sense of Hope and Wellbeing
On a scale of 1-5, students gave an average rating of 4.8 for their improved sense of hope and well-being gained through engagement on Abwaab
Enhanced Enjoyment of Learning
On a scale of 1-5, average student rating for enjoyment of learning on platform was 4.9
Challenges
On a scale of 1-5, average student rating for overall experience on the platform was 5
Recommendations for Improvement
- The majority (88%) of students never needed any support from parents/siblings for using the platform
- Half of the students did not experience any challenges with the platform, while the remaining experienced technical, internet connectivity and tablet connectivity issues.
Student Testimonials
“
“Abwaab helped me a lot. I didn’t go to school for a year or two and so [the platform] helped me a lot. I started studying again”
“
“Abwaab helped me gain confidence to participate in my class and feel like I understand the material well. I used to be very shy before”
“
“Abwaab gave me an opportunity to enjoy learning. I now feel like I can get good grades and become a game developer in the future”
Achieving Major Milestones
5 out of 6 senior students received the official Jordanian high school diploma.
Students completed their secondary school education with merit, thanks to the COWF Abwaab Remote Education program:
Success Stories
“I recently completed the final secondary exam successfully. It was a long and hard year for me - I faced a lot of difficulties.
Before I got access to Abwaab, I did not have the basic tools to study. I was lucky to have the opportunity to get access to the platform through Children of War Foundation’s learning program. This was a golden opportunity for me to complete my secondary education.
Studying on Abwaab’s platform was the only way to learn and pass the secondary education level, and especially with the help of Children of War foundation, providing the tools and mentoring that assisted in learning. I want to thank Children of War and Unique Zan Foundation, and everyone who helped me to pass in these hard conditions.”
"I successfully finished the high school exam this year.
It was a very difficult year because of the circumstances I faced, because I could not attend private lessons or enroll in anearby school, but through the Children of War Foundationand support from Unique Zan Foundation, I started studyingon Abwaab’s platform about ten months ago.
I work in a farm to support my family, so being able to use the platform changed my life, because it allowed me to work and study at the same time.
By using the platform, I learned a lot of lessons in varioussubjects. Studying on the platform was a lifeline for me."
Four Cohorts Later, We Remain Committed to Scaling the Program
Many of the students enrolled in our program have to work informally, in order to support their families, and others have no access to any form of education other than the tablet and platform access we provide them with. COWF field coordinators are in continuous communication with them to ensure that all of our student needs are attended to, in addition to providing them with all of the necessary encouragement and enthusiasm.
With progressive and impressive results as well as success of our remote learning program, we are currently preparing to enrol an additional 115 waitlisted students this fall, in collaboration and partnership with major benefactor Unique Zan Foundation and Abwaab, bringing the total number of students enrolled to 256.
How We Plan to Scale & Further Develop
We plan to initiate a wide scale expansion of the COWF-Abwaab Remote Education Program beyond the Jordanian borders to provide students the same opportunities in the greater MENAP region.
Enroll additional waitlisted students with focus on older female students “No One Left Behind” COWF Global Education Initiative.
Hire additional management and oversight with a focus on program growth and innovation.
Cultivate sustainable funding with donor development and COWF U.N. ECOSOC staff member, help support local registration costs, wi-fi, equipment, and management.
Jordan: 3-year Funding to Scale and Sustain
Operational costs include: scaling of program, oversight/management, transportation, Ministry of Interior Registration fees, lead student stipends, training & testing.
Remaining funding needs for Oct 2023 – Dec 2025 in total is: $320,391
Other ways to ask for support with your network, to give the gift of education:
Sponsor a Student
Sponsor a Cohort
