This youth center in Isare, a rural commune on the outskirts of Bujumbura, uses LWB’s Ideas Box to provide academic classes and extracurricular activities to children in this community.

The Ideas Box consists of four compact color-coded modules containing all the tools needed to set up a multimedia library in a dedicated space. The government-built youth center had no equipment prior to the arrival of LWB.

Before an Ideas Box is deployed, LWB holds discussions with the partner community. The specific content needs are discussed and then the content is curated by head office teams. LWB's content team works on a variety of topics including psychosocial support (gender-based violence), sexual health, inclusive education, rights, training and entertainment.

Once the content has been designed, the Ideas Box is deployed in the field and includes a one-week training course for local facilitators to enable them to fully leverage the content with the local community. This content is refreshed throughout the project, which lasts three to four years, with a view to sustaining the project without technical support. At the end of the project, the partner (in this case, Isare commune, which pays the facilitators) assumes ownership of the Ideas Box. The LWB teams then continue to support the Ideas Box networks throughout the country by conducting discussion forums for facilitators.

The children in the commune act as if they are entering a library and scan their membership card. The service is free of charge.

Children in a journalism class. Classes and activities change every day. The timetables and uses of the Ideas Box are posted on a door.

Children surfing on tablets, under the guidance of Alexis Nimubona, the facilitator in charge of the Ideas Box at the center.

In Burundi, where basic education has been free since 2005, the NGO Play International has been using sports to address the causes of school dropout (gender, disability and poverty). To reenroll and keep children in school, the organization is training a network of teachers and sports facilitators in playdagogy, a methodology that uses games and sports to help children learn concepts such as integration and tolerance, as well as the sciences and French.

Playdagogy has three phases. In phase 1, “no-theme games” teach the children rules, respect for others, and how to share a ball.

In phase 2, children play “themed-games” that have increasingly complex rules. This phase introduces them to topics such as the inclusion of girls in school.

In phase 3 - the discussion phase - children take the time to discuss the topic covered in the game. Discussions are open: there are no wrong questions and each child goes home with a keyword to reflect on.

Olympic field in Kanyosha, to the south of Bujumbura. Oscar Nsengiyumva, 33, is the lead sports facilitator at a youth center in Kamenge Nord, Bujumbura: “Activities are tailored to the children's learning needs throughout the year. During the exam period, topics help them act accordingly. Here is one example of a game: “Why I go to school.” School is the prize, while the balls and other cones represent the obstacles that can distract you."

Adèle Ndikumasabo, 30, has been working with Play International for three years. She started out as a teaching assistant, was subsequently put in charge of events, and is now a project leader. Every day, she helps design new games and train facilitators: design of textbooks, strengthening and monitoring facilitators’ capacities, identification of their needs, etc.
She thinks that Play International’s added value lies in the messages conveyed: children learn because they actively participate in the sessions. In the gender games, they take turns playing, for example, the role of the victim (hit by the ball, trapped in a hoop on the ground, one arm behind the back) and the aggressor (who tries to hit the other with the ball).

Faustin Nduwayezu, 42, is a public school teacher. He has been working with Play International for 10 years.

Jospin Mugisha (left), Leslie Nirema (center) and Justin Habonimana are students in the playdagogy program. Jospin is 14 and has been taking classes for four years. He became aware of the program while walking across the field. These activities encouraged him to go back to school. He wants to be a teacher or an office employee.
Leslie is 14 years old. She has been participating in the playdagogy program for two years, where she has learned about respecting others and the importance of school. Her favorite sports are judo and soccer. She likes learning the rules and having fun. She would like to be a pilot.
Justin, 17, has been playing sports with Play International for the past 10 years, mainly at school, but sometimes at the youth center in his neighborhood. It was Faustin Nduwayezu who introduced him to the program back then. That is what prompted him to go back to school: he went from roaming the streets to receiving all sorts of advice during these activity sessions. Now he is the one giving advice to the other children.