From 2019 to 2024, ADRA Canada worked alongside local partners in Myanmar, Sudan, and Niger to improve outcomes for the wellbeing of girls. The BRIGHT project, short for “Breaking barriers, improving girls’ education, hope, and totality,” addressed not only the barriers keeping many young girls from education, but the contributing factors of gender-based violence and sexist social norms that create these obstacles.
Around the world, too many women and girls face tremendous barriers to education and economic opportunities. Often, this is compounded by other social barriers that prevent them from exercizing full agency over their lives—everything from poverty driving school-aged girls out of classes to work, to outright prejudice against the education of women and even gender-based violence.
From 2019 to 2024, ADRA ran the “BRIGHT” project in Myanmar, Sudan, and Niger. The project’s full name was: “Breaking barriers, improving girls’ education, hope, and totality.” While that might be a mouthful to say, it was and remains worth naming the specific needs that women and girls have. Through this project, ADRA reached 45,498 people across the projects three target countries with transformative opportunities to change their lives around. For many, this came in the form of an Accelerated Learning Program – allowing those who had missed out on the completion of high school to rapidly update their knowledge base and skills and open new work opportunities.
Across all three countries where the project operated, BRIGHT significantly reduced the percentage of out-of-school children from 46% to 17%. Where gender-based violence and culturally entrenched prejudice against girls being educated used to be normative, supportive attitudes towards girls’ education have increased dramatically.
But the real heroes in this project are the women and girls who participated in the project. ADRA (in collaboration with Global Affairs Canada, Salanga, Sick Kids) provided resources and training, but it was the hard work of each project participant that ultimately changed her own life. This was prosperity through partnership, in the name of ADRA’s core values of Justice, Compassion, and Love.
In Sudan, the BRIGHT project has provided vital support to communities like Hashaba village, where women and girls faced systemic barriers to education and empowerment. Take the story of Zakia Adam, a 40-year-old mother determined to break the cycle of poverty and early marriage for her children. With the support of ADRA and BRIGHT’s highly effective Accelerated Learning Program (ALP), Zakia could access educational opportunities previously out of reach.
By providing free schooling and engaging in education sensitization efforts, the BRIGHT project empowered Zakia and others like her to pursue their aspirations. Today, children who were once out of school are now enrolled in formal education, signaling a positive shift toward gender equality and community development.
In Myanmar, the BRIGHT project navigated complex challenges, including political instability and conflict, to deliver vital educational support to vulnerable communities. During periods of heightened conflict, when families were displaced and communities uprooted, a local school called Karenni Pyinnyaryay Meeaim remained a steadfast beacon of stability, providing a sense of normalcy and continuity in the lives of its students and their families.
In instances where access to traditional educational resources was limited, teachers improvised, utilizing makeshift classrooms and instructional materials to deliver lessons. Additionally, the school’s role extended beyond academics, offering psychosocial support and a sense of belonging to children who had experienced the trauma of conflict.
In Niger, where droughts and food insecurity threaten livelihoods, BRIGHT has played a crucial role in building resilience and promoting sustainable development. For instance, in addressing food insecurity, ADRA collaborated with local farmers to implement sustainable agriculture practices, such as rainwater harvesting and crop diversification, to mitigate the impact of droughts and improve food production. Furthermore, ADRA facilitated the establishment of community-based savings and loan groups, empowering women and marginalized groups to access financial resources and entrepreneurship opportunities.
These stories represent a few of the many thousands of lives positively affected by BRIGHT. Thanks to the generous contributions of Global Affairs Canada (GAC), Salanga, Sick Kids, and our partner ADRA offices in Myanmar, Niger, Sudan, and Norway, so many individuals, families, and communities were empowered to overcome adversity and pursue their dreams.
Together, the ADRA network continues to work towards a brighter future for all, serving humanity so all may live as God intended.
To partner with us in our life-changing work, please visit the link in our bio and stories.
Together, we are building prosperity through partnership.
