VVOB - education for development

20/08/2026

Walk into a school that feels alive and you will notice how well teachers collaborate and how engaged learners are. More often than not, that atmosphere can be traced back to how the school is led.

At VVOB, we work with school leaders and education partners to strengthen these leadership practices, helping schools grow into environments where teachers feel supported and learners have the space to grow. This kind of leadership strengthens schools from the inside out.

19/08/2026

When we play, we learn. In fact, research shows that play-based learning is one of the most effective ways for children to develop cognitive, social, emotional and physical skills – especially for Early Childhood Education.

Carmen Neuville, an early childhood teacher at Berea Primary School in the Umlazi district, has noticed a difference in her learners’ confidence through play-based learning: “My classroom is an environment where they can practise concepts and develop their skills in a way that does not feel overwhelming or intimidating.”

Discover the confidence play can build, for children and teachers alike: https://vvob.org/stories-news/building-confidence-through-play-in-south-africa

VVOB in South Africa The LEGO Foundation

17/08/2026

We want to hear from you! What do you think makes a great teacher?

We’ll start: a great teacher is someone who makes every learner feel seen.

Now it’s your turn. Share your answer in the comments. 👇

14/08/2026

At a young age, children can dream of becoming anything and gender doesn't matter... yet.

Research shows that by age six, most children already believe some jobs or roles are “for boys” and others “for girls”. Even at as young as three, children start to pick up on the quiet and sometimes loud social cues, norms and practices that shape their overall worldviews.

It's on all of us to create learning environments where girls and boys are equally encouraged to explore, lead and imagine their futures, free from harmful gender stereotypes.

Gender-Responsive Pedagogy ( ) helps make this possible by supporting teachers to recognise and challenge the gender norms that play out in classrooms. GRP guides teachers to plan lessons, use language and manage classrooms in ways that include every learner.

Learn more about how GRP helps turn classrooms into spaces where all children feel seen and supported: https://vvob.org/stories-news/teaching-equity-why-teacher-support-matters-most

13/08/2026

For W***y Lukwiya, learning agriculture changed when he stepped out of the classroom and into the field.

Instead of only reading about farming in textbooks, W***y began learning by doing: raising seedlings, growing tomatoes and green peppers, and learning how to use pesticides and herbicides more responsibly.

Today, he has started his own farm and has his sights set on becoming an agricultural researcher.

W***y's story is part of VVOB’s Green LEAP project, which is helping teachers make agriculture and entrepreneurship education more practical and relevant for young people in Uganda.

Follow W***y’s journey from learning about farming to building a future in it: https://vvob.org/stories-news/a-young-ugandan-grows-his-future-in-farming

12/08/2026

Youth unemployment is back on the rise. International Labour Organization's new Global Employment Trends for Youth report shows unemployment rose to 12.4% in 2025, just two years after hitting a 20-year low.

67 million young people are unemployed, and 257 million are NEET (not in employment, education or training), meaning they've dropped out of both the job market and the classroom.

Young women continue to carry the heavier burden, with NEET rates more than double those of young men, not because of unequal schooling, but unpaid care work and barriers to decent jobs.

Good teachers and strong training systems won't fix the labour market on their own. But they're often what keeps a young person believing there's still a path forward. At VVOB, our Skilling for Sustainable Futures flagship supports education systems to prepare young people with the skills they need for the future of work, including green skills, entrepreneurship and transferable competencies that help them navigate a changing world.

The report examines recent developments in youth labour markets worldwide and provides the latest global and regional analysis of youth employment trends and prospects.

11/08/2026

What would you do with an extra billion dollars for education?

That’s the question Lee Crawfurd explores in a new article for the Center for Global Development, looking at 34 organisations where philanthropic funding could help drive meaningful change at scale. We’re pleased to see VVOB on the list!

What a nice recognition of an approach we’ve been committed to for years: working with education systems, governments and educators to strengthen the quality of teaching and learning, and making sure that solutions have a chance of reaching scale.

There’s some excellent work represented in the list, so we’re in good company:

If I worked at a frontier AI lab and just became an overnight billionaire, my first thought would be to do something simple and give it all to GiveDirectly or GiveWell. But organisations in the business of delivering real-world, non-digital services are constrained in their growth by the difficulty....

04/08/2026

A good conference sparks ideas. A great conference turns those ideas into action.

Originating from a contribution to The Education and Development Forum - UKFIET conference in 2025, VVOB en Ecuador has developed a practical Teacher Guide to help teachers and students submit strong projects to the agriculture and climate change category.

The guide shows how the right conversation, in the right room, can lead to solutions that respond to real needs.

Read the full article published on UKFIET: https://www.ukfiet.org/2026/growing-solutions-how-a-conference-conversation-became-a-teacher-guide/

03/08/2026

Let's start the week with a little reflection.

Finish this sentence:
Every learner deserves a classroom where...

What would you add? Share your thoughts in the comments!👇

31/07/2026

When school attendance drops, learning doesn’t have to stop.

In Zambia, Teacher Mary Lungu has seen how economic pressures pull children out of class, especially during farming season. But she doesn’t give up on her learners.

Instead, Mary reaches out. She talks to parents, explains the impact of missed school days and encourages learning to continue at home.

“Most of the children are left alone. Their parents go for work. So we call the parents, we discuss. We try to put measures in place at home.”

Mary’s story shows that when teachers and parents connect, even tough circumstances can become opportunities for shared sense of responsibility and better learning outcomes.