Watoto Read is partnering with Jesuit Relief Service (JRS), a well-established humanitarian organization, to implement educational projects in refugee camps in Sub Sahara. JRS is an international Catholic organization with a mission to accompany, serve, and advocate on behalf of refugees and other forcibly displaced persons, that they may heal, learn, and determine their own future.  JRS oversees education in a large number of refugee camps globally, including all camps in Chad, Africa. JRS has infrastructure in place to provide for education including staff physically located in the refugee camps, allowing them first-hand knowledge of the unique barriers to education in each location. JRS provides feedback to Watoto Read regarding the greatest areas of need and together we prioritize ways to support education for refugee children. This partnership ensures that 100% of funds support the mission of education for refugee children.

Watoto Read is also partnering with Days for Girls International to provide menstrual hygiene supplies to young women in the refugee camps in Chad. During a trip to Chad in 2018, our team learned that a disproportionate number of middle school girls stop attending school when they begin their menses. There are several reasons for this but two of the biggest are lack of adequate private facilities (bathrooms) and lack of supplies to manage their female hygiene needs. Watoto Read understands the critical importance of girls’ education. Amina’s Dream Project was created as a part of Watoto Read to focus on improving access to education for refugee girls. In 2019, Watoto Read began a partnership with Days for Girls to address the lack of access to female hygiene supplies. Days for Girls increases access to menstrual care and education by developing global partnerships, cultivating social enterprises, mobilizing volunteers, and innovating sustainable solutions that shatter stigmas and limitations for women and girls. Watoto Read works with local sewing groups who make the menstrual hygiene kit components which are then sent to the refugee camps in Goz Beida, Chad. For more information, click here.