Lego’s foundation just pledged $97 million to fund childhood education in conflict zones

FastCompany: Global conflicts from South Sudan’s political crisis to the United States’ recent war with Iran are putting more children at risk of suffering. One humanitarian duo wants to ensure conflict-stricken children get funding for an often-overlooked need: education. Under an agreement announced Wednesday, the LEGO Foundation committed $97 million to expand International Rescue Committee programs that use play to help millions of children learn and recover. “Children who are born in conflict have their childhood stolen from them,” IRC President David Miliband told The Associated Press.

“But what’s remarkable about children is that if you give them a bit of their childhood back, they make the most of it. And this is about giving the best of childhood back.” The five-year partnership aims to reach 5 million children across East Africa and the Middle East. Who, exactly, they serve will change as conflicts evolve. LEGO Foundation CEO Sidsel Marie Kristensen pledged to focus on those “in the most dire contexts.” Currently under consideration are Ethiopia, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Uganda.

Kristensen said the “truly agile” framework is designed to bring play-based learning wherever it’s needed most, rather than funding individual place-based grants that might become outdated as conflicts evolve in real time. “In the world we are living in right now, nobody knows honestly what is happening tomorrow or in two months,” Kristensen said. “That (flexibility) is what we need right now.” The investment will introduce more classrooms to an IRC-led program called PlayMatters that offers training for teachers of 3-to 12-year-olds to integrate what they call “playful learning” into lessons.

The goal is not to tell educators what they should teach but help tailor their instruction to the needs that arise in schools serving children traumatized by crises. Program leaders also act as a policy advocates for education funding at the national level, working with government officials to embed their materials into their curriculum. Teacher says ‘playful learning’ reduces absenteeism At a primary school serving refugees in western Uganda’s Nakivale settlement, one teacher credits PlayMatters with reducing absenteeism. Sister Kasingye Secunda said attendance used to be an issue.

Teachers try their best to make students “feel at home,” she said. But many students don’t understand both the local language and English, the language of instruction. Children learn colors through one game where they select mangoes, bananas and other fruits to share with their classmates. They build confidence through class presentations, she said, and develop leadership as they take turns guiding small groups through activities. “Learners enjoy the lessons,” Secunda said.

“They are eager to come to school.” From Ethiopia to Tanzania, a radio show helps children name their emotions through episodes offered in multiple languages featuring culturally familiar characters. PlayMatters Project Director Martin Omukuba said they are expanding such digitally delivered multimedia lessons. The radio show, for example, helps them remotely reach schools in South Sudan that are made inaccessible by flooding for half the year. The LEGO Foundation provides flexible funding so that IRC can respond to the fluid nature of conflicts.

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The significant financial commitment from a well-known brand like LEGO to support education in conflict zones highlights a major trend in corporate philanthropy, making it highly impactful and relevant for brand strategy professionals.