Learning and Resource Centre

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In 2017, Unique Foundation kick-started a Learning and Resource Centre in Chupg Town, Dippa-Kunda, The Gambia. The Learning Centre continues to run after-school support programs for underprivileged and at-risk children and young people, including free mini public library services and tuition-free remedial classes for both in-school and out-of-school children. Over the years, the Learning Centre has grown, and in 2021, it moved to its current location at Fajara G. Section, off Bertil Harding Highway.

The objective of this project is to roll back the high rate of illiteracy by preventing underprivileged and at-risk children and young people from dropping out of school due to poor academic achievement, improving educational quality, and providing opportunities for children and young people to access free learning materials, qualified tutors, study facilities, and mentorship. This project has continued to prevent school dropouts, improve students’ academic performance, and reduce illiteracy. Since its inception in 2017, over 1,200 in-school and out-of-school children and young people have directly benefited from the Learning Centre's classes. These classes include:

• Tuition-free remedial education for at-risk and underprivileged pupils.
• Exam preparation classes for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for young people who failed certain subjects and are unable to secure admission into tertiary institutions and universities.
• Second Chance Education aimed at increasing the number of unschooled adults and young people who can read and write, providing basic literacy education, especially to teenage mothers.
• Computer classes designed to equip young people with 21st-century skills, such as basic computing, computer coding and programming, website development, and building mobile apps.

The pandemic exposed huge challenges in children’s access to educational materials that impacted their learning. With children no longer able to attend our Learning and Resource Centre in person, in 2020, we launched the "Unique Foundation Mobile Library with Outdoor Readers Hub." In two years, the Mobile Library visited 30 school districts in 20 communities, giving more than 50,000 underprivileged children and young people access to quality learning materials. The Mobile Library provided insights into communities and identified adults and caregivers who couldn’t support their children’s learning at home during COVID-19. Through this initiative, we were able to combine efforts and bring more adults and young parents into our Second Chance program.