Last Mile Learners Reflect Literacy Needs Across The Globe

The road to home means many things to many people, but none more relevant than to those forced into displacement. Global estimates of refugees or displaced peoples currently stand at a staggering 256 million. For individuals in search of a safe existence for themselves and their families, the road is filled with dignity-detaching experiences. For many, the stories are eerily similar yet poignantly personal.

Not too long ago, this reporter traveled to Rome to meet with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) officials and was granted an audience with Pope Francis to learn about his perspective on the human rights conundrum of displacement. With the Pope’s thoughts firmly implanted, I recently trekked to northwest Uganda to the Imvepi Refugee Settlement to better understand the experience of those living this life and those pushing for meaningful answers.

The problems and respective solutions can be micro and macro depending upon the eyes that gaze upon them. For example, Mandela Joseph (no relation to Nelson Mandela) is a 17-year-old South Sudanese refugee at Imvepi Refugee Settlement, progressing in English language studies through a technology program utilizing solar panels to power tablets.

As we sat in his family hut, Mandela lit up, describing the joy of playing games on the tablet because they provide an outlet from the stress he experiences. Mandela spoke of the pressure he felt (partly interpreted by a translator) around educational fees that his family struggled to pay, the recent passing of his father, and the responsibility of being a big brother, grandson, and community leader.

When asked what the program meant, Mandela’s grandmother, Konga Cicilia, approached a more macro and culturally visceral view. Per the translator, Cicilia shared that she was not an initial believer in the program because white people were a part of it—her mindset convinced her that black and white people struggle to get along. However, the program spotlighted a collaborative approach that substantially benefited her and her grandchildren.

Timing Matters

The element of time might be the single most determinative factor in successful intervention programs and relocation activities. Progress can be halted merely by a corroded wire preventing solar panels from charging, impacting basic power needs and those with tablets just asking to learn.

For the displaced, time is measured in intervals of hope for reuniting with family from their homeland. A refugee camp can remain in existence for 17 to 25 years. To locals, the camp represents an occupation of their land. For the residents, it is a search for a semblance of permanence.

Manal Stulgaitis, Education Officer, UNHCR, sees time as a clash between outstanding human rights balances yet to be paid and those coming due as a result of emergencies. “Ukraine represents a rapidly moving emergency, and while they [Ukrainians] occupy the humanitarian spotlight, we still have what’s called ‘protracted conflicts.’

In Afghanistan, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and South Sudan (the majority of Imvepi refugees), we have millions displaced between 10 and 15 years old. In essence, we have to sort through an entire spectrum of people on different timelines of suffering and displacement,” says Stulgaitis.

Dr. Anthony Cernera, founder of the Refugee Migrant Education Network (RMEN), led a contingent into Rome to understand the role higher education might play in addressing Stulgaitis and others' needs worldwide.

“Within the 100 million refugees, we have a subset of young people roughly totaling 20 million (university eligible),” says Cernera.

“So, that’s the education puzzle we have to solve. How do we educate people who have been displaced and who may be continuing to be on the move? At some point, when they become adults, are they qualified to generate a sustainable income and contribute to the societies that they eventually find solace in?”

Prepared remarks by Pope Francis to a contingent in Rome examining the refugee crisis and in support of efforts by the MRE focused on research, teaching, and social promotion. Pope Francis echos Cernera, looking to avoid potential and damaging secondary crises post-refugee status. “We need to offer courses that respond to their [refugee] needs, the organization of programs of distance learning, and the provision of scholarships to permit their resettlement,” says Francis.

Pope Francis continues, “By drawing upon the resources of the international network of academic institutions, universities can also facilitate the recognition of the degrees and professional qualifications of migrants and refugees, for the good of the latter and that of the societies that receive them.”

Informal Education

Western societies rely on the stability of infrastructure, semi-permanent governments, and social structures, providing a backstop to prevent chaos. In other parts of the world, food and water insecurities are real and desperate, to such a degree that basic reading and writing skills remain relevant only when the first two challenges are met. In addition, life stories run the risk of being told too early as a result of child marriage. For those who want to assist, the path to progress can be both formal and predictable or informal and malleable.

Drew Edwards and Andrew Bauer launched Pangea Educational Development in 2011 with an initial goal to help more kids access education. Fast forward to 2023, and the dynamic duo has a vision for a 100% literate world by 2050. These include what Edwards and Bauer called “last mile learners.”

“Initially, our plan was to help all learners access schooling, but we quickly realized that access is not enough. The world is struggling to come to terms with the fact that although there are more kids in school than ever before, they aren’t learning very much,” says Edwards.

Edwards refers to an issue increasingly called learning poverty by the World Bank. According to UNESCO, basic literacy skills have stagnated across Africa for decades, affecting over 127 million people. This has only been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Uganda was the world’s last country to reopen school doors 22 months after closing in March 2020. During this time, 15 million Ugandan learners were left without any formal education.

The pivot now has Pangea serving as a quality education social enterprise to large nongovernmental organizations and ministries of education across the African continent. They make and sell local books, train teachers, and manage free reading programs for refugee learners, as reflected in their current efforts in Imvepi.

Their efforts are being recognized globally. Pangea’s books have been highlighted as a “revolutionary innovation” in a recent UNESCO case study. Meanwhile, their refugee learning program was selected as part of the MIT LEAP Program, which seeks to support organizations whose innovations bridge learning gaps for underserved children ages 2-12.

These successes do not come lightly. Their team has had to accumulate enough political capital to build trust with refugee families and government and military leaders.

Diplomacy Matters

The power struggle for access, resources, and trust among refugees and camp governance can be both fleeting and pervasive. On a moment-by-moment basis, Edwards finds himself balancing the politics of volunteer efforts, a military leader's needs and requests, and the delicate nature of distributing lifelines through stories and technology to displaced families in wait.

“There is a lot at play and at stake in learning for those who are displaced. We work to amplify everyone’s efforts and place the desires of refugees themselves as the most important stakeholders in their futures. It isn’t easy, though,” says Edwards.

In 2022, 12 of the United Nations Agencies, including UNHCR, reported under 50% of necessary funding. Issues of funding only serve as a cross-cultural accelerant to the ongoing tension between refugees and host communities.

In the shadow of the year-long conflict in Ukraine, Pope Francis communicated a “call to understanding” why people are forced to emigrate in the first place. The Pope stated, “I see the need for further studies on the so-called “right to emigrate.” It is important to reflect on the causes of migratory movements and on the forms of violence that lead people to depart for other countries.”

Many in the refugee solution field talk of a dilemma that reflects the challenges diplomatic efforts face that those experiencing displacement feel at a very visceral level. It’s the concept of being either an asset or a burden to the cause. A westerner’s experience of this concept is often felt when worrying about overstaying a welcome or asking for assistance repeatedly from the same person or entity. However, in the world of the stateless or displaced, it can represent a shaking relationship with one's sense of self, of personal constitution.

“Right now, we speak in deficit narratives, and while the challenges are real, solutions won’t come until we focus on the assets and opportunities at hand. It’s a narrative that must be shaped by refugee voices and host communities together. If we do, we all stand to benefit from a richer world that goes far beyond addressing momentary deficits,” says Edwards.

Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, commented to this reporter in Rome, saying, “Education is a pathway to dignity.” A summation that evokes confirmation from the masses regardless of the place they call home. In response to the global instability, Grandi continued, “Perhaps a reboot is what we all need, not just refugees.” Grandi and others supporting what he calls ‘stateless people’ lean into the sheer number of children displaced worldwide, believing that 100 million unified responses are needed to secure substantive progress.

Peeling back the hard data and crunching the numbers exposes an epidemic of children in disadvantaged states of living. “Of the 100 million refugees, 50% are estimated to be children. Additionally, 220 million children across the globe live in threatening environments,” states Grandi.

Data about educational programs and their impact can further challenge the generation of a common language among those programs and leaders from different countries attempting to make a difference.

Education data in the West can illicit conflicting emotions and opinions. Data reflective of educational skill attainment in the refugee world can mean the difference between an abundance of opportunity or resource deprivation. Uganda recently released literacy rates reflective of a country whose Covid-19 lockdown was the longest in the world. The nation’s children were locked out of formal education for over two years.

The data coming back from what amounts to an educational graveyard revealed that “83 percent of children in Uganda at late primary age today are not proficient in reading, adjusted for the out-of-school children,” according to the World Bank.

Joseph Mandela, at 17 years of age, represents a subset of global refugees forced to live parallel lives to survive and support siblings, grandparents, and those that share settlement resident status.

If Grandi and the Pope are correct, then the data associated with impact, personal trial, and progress need to be equally shared to create alliances of progress and substance.

Edwards, Bauer, and Pangea Educational Development will continue to chronicle the folklore stories of proud and dignified people whose only crime was being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Long after the cameras leave and the visiting storytellers dissipate, the silent suffering continues, requiring even more attention and answers.

Interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity.