STORY OF LUKE

When schools worldwide first closed in March 2020 to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, it turned its attention to the devastating impact this was having on children. Around 90% of the world’s school-going children - 1.6 billion girls and boys - had their education put on hold with massive disruptions in learning caused, which continue today as countries experience waves of the pandemic and new variants emerge, putting an entire generation of children at risk of never achieving their potential.
Save The Children’s Catch-up Clubs (CuC) were designed as an answer to combat this problem, providing children with the foundational learning needed to successfully return to school. CuCs support children aged 8-13 in upper primary grades who are furthest behind to achieve basic proficiency in literacy (reading comprehension) and numeracy (number recognition/simple calculations). Activities are delivered in intensive cycles to accelerate learning, accompanied by “wrap-around support” (child protection services, cash vouchers for families to cover education expenses) to address barriers to education and promote regular attendance.