Past Programs

The Ducere Foundation works with governments and in-country partners to improve the quality of education in Africa.

Peace Education

Built on the Botswana tradition of the kgotla – a place for peaceful resolution of conflict demonstrating a thousand-year-old tradition of democracy – our Peace Education program allows children to become advocates for peace.

It is a structured, multi-disciplinary program that develops a child’s self-expression and critical thinking through five pillars: Debating, Human Rights Awareness, Peace Building, Advocacy and Leadership.

Teachers and Ducere mentors work together using the Ducere Peace Manual – a guide that contains subject outlines and activities for children to apply what they have learned. Reading materials cover a broad range of topics from animal rights to child persecution, all of which are customised so that cultural sensitivities are respected and national relevancy maintained. Topics covering the five pillars are explored together in a Peace Club setting that is both age-appropriate and productive. 

Read Out Loud Radio

Our Read Out Loud Radio program inspires children to become the future learners and leaders of tomorrow.

The Read Out Loud Radio program started in October 2013 on Mosi-O-Tunya Radio in Livingstone, Zambia. The program airs every month and has given hundreds of children the opportunity to broadcast their stories and talk about their lives and the stories told by their elders. These sessions give young learners the skills and tools they need for their voices to be heard, as well as creating a space for them to question, reflect, listen and learn. The program is a medium for children to grow in confidence while developing valuable communication skills, as they think critically and comment about the world around them.

On air, learners discuss their experiences and aspirations as they reach out to their peers and the wider community about the issues that matter. It is their opportunity to shine and create powerful, uplifting and informative radio programs for young people in their community. This strategy shows other young listeners that they too can have a voice regarding the issues they are facing, allowing them not only to express themselves to their peers, but also to adults, in a cross-generation dialogue.

School Improvement Program

Our School Improvement program was an accumulation of the Foundation’s initiatives, from literacy and public speaking to interning and mentoring in primary schools across Botswana and Southern Africa.

The program was delivered in conjunction with our Mentoring Initiative, and began across three regions of Botswana in 2012, focusing on improving Mathematics, Science and English results. This program was designed for the government of Botswana to assume responsibility and leadership once the modelling and implementation was complete.

Mentors were elected as part of a government initiative to address youth unemployment in the region, with university graduates trained to expand the Foundation’s educational philosophy in their allocated school and community. Within these schools and communities, our graduates worked closely with teachers and students to address all aspects of school life, from maintaining weekly teaching schedules to working on the needs of each individual child in their care.

The mentor experience was empowering for both the student and the mentor. The mentor-student relationship was built on trust and become a vital part of a child’s experience at school, increasing their confidence and competency levels. For mentors, once the training program was complete, they become mentor-trainers, guiding the creation of new educational strategies and skills to other teachers. This program was to become the responsibility of the education ministry once the implementation was complete.

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