Egypt Literate Village Quarterly Report (April 1 – June 30, 2020)

The project's quarterly report for April 1 to June 30, 2020, highlights the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the LV team's efforts to adapt and maintain contact with project stakeholders and beneficiaries. In response to the pandemic, the LV team developed a contingency plan to distribute family learning and hygiene kits, raise awareness about COVID-19 prevention, and conduct online training for LV partner non-governmental organization (PNGO) and community development association (CDA) staff. The plan was approved by USAID, and $500,000 was allocated from the LV project budget to cover the costs. The distribution of kits started in the previous quarter and will be finalized by early July, reaching around 36,000 families and 1,440 community schools in the three intervention governorates. The LV project also coordinated with the "Saving Children Health" project implemented by Save the Children to conduct awareness sessions for all PNGO and CDA staff via the Zoom application. These sessions provided general information about COVID-19, symptoms, preventive measures, and other related topics. A total of 488 PNGO and CDA members attended these sessions. To spread awareness messages to the communities' target groups, the LV team developed a tree of communication that includes contacts of direct and indirect beneficiaries. This tree diagram describes the flow of information in a descending approach from the governorate office to the ultimate beneficiaries of the project. During this reporting period, the LV team succeeded in reaching 19,703 beneficiaries in the three intervention governorates. The LV project made adjustments to its implementation methodology to adapt to the spread of COVID-19. Trainings provided to different segments of beneficiaries were resumed during this reporting period through the online training approach using the Zoom application and others. The project also conducted a series of meetings to think of alternative scenarios to support the project beneficiaries. These alternative scenarios included conducting conference call meetings with small groups of beneficiaries, holding small meetings at the community level, and providing worksheets and assignments that mothers can do with their children at home to activate the intergenerational learning approach. In addition, the LV team worked on converting training materials to virtual materials in preparation for implementation early July. The distribution of home assignments was initiated during the previous quarter, where 117 AL classes learners received assignments in Sohag and 1,257 in Beheira, while Assiut plans to start working on this activity in early July with around 10,000 AL classes learners. To create high-quality, engaging learning environments in community schools, LV teams in Sohag and Beheira resumed protection efforts to fix protection bars for doors and windows, bringing the total schools protected to 154 community schools in Beheira and 127 in Sohag. The community schools' furniture needs assessment committee, formed in close collaboration with the MoE directorate in Assiut, visited 622 community schools to explore furniture needs, and a tender has been advertised. The LV project aims to refine the LV model and reach another underserved community. To achieve this, the project is working on converting training materials to virtual materials and distributing home assignments to learners. The project is also conducting a series of meetings to think of alternative scenarios to support the project beneficiaries and adapting its implementation methodology to the spread of COVID-19.