Press Release: HERMOSA BEACH-BASED NONPROFIT WINS 2016 WISE AWARDS FOR REFUGEE-LED PRESCHOOL EDUCATI
For Immediate Release
CONTACT: Katie-Jay Scott iACT, Chief Operating Officer ktj@iact.ngo +1 (310) 738-0285
Little Ripples was chosen for their creative approach to crucial education challenges and demonstrating positive impact on society
HERMOSA BEACH, CA — Little Ripples, an iACT education program, is one of six projects that were chosen from a pool of 15 finalists, to win the 2016 WISE (World Innovative Summit for Education) Awards, an initiative of the Qatar Foundation.
Little Ripples is an early childhood development program that builds the capacity of refugee women to implement customized, in-home, and play-based education in order to support the social-emotional, cognitive, and physical development of children ages three to five. Little Ripples continues to grow and has thus far impacted over 750 children ages three to five years old and their families in Darfuri refugee camps in eastern Chad, in addition to more than twenty teachers and ten cooks. The program is currently implemented in partnership with Jesuit Refugee Service. This scalable, durable, and cost-effective program plants seeds of peace to break the cycle of violence and lays the foundation for long-term well-being of both the child and the whole community.
Dr Abdulaziz Al-Horr, CEO of Qatar Finance and Business Academy, is one of the ten education authorities who formed the WISE Awards Jury. He remarked: “The 2016 WISE Awards embody the notion of ‘education as empowerment’. Each of the winning projects can be seen as a tool to overcome some of the world’s biggest education challenges. They are reaching out to refugees, they are supporting struggling students, and they are changing lives through vocational training… We are confident that this recognition will support these projects in promoting new ideas and practices, and in building a better future for all.” The 2016 WISE Awards projects will be celebrated at a presentation ceremony in Beijing, as part of the WISE@Beijing gathering hosted by 21st Century Education Research Institute, November 4-5.
Little Ripples is an iACT education program. Since 2005, iACT has facilitated refugee-led education, sports, and human rights programs that build resilience and cultivate recovery in refugee camps with a focus of filling a gap in humanitarian response and in improving the way we create and implement programs with refugee populations. iACT also inspires action by U.S.-based supporters through exhibits, workshops, a Global Citizens preschool curriculum, events, and campaigns.
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iACT is an international organization providing humanitarian action to aid, empower, and extend hope to those affected by mass atrocities, creating a world where people are connected and equipped to act.