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EQUAL PLACE
Equal Place is an educational initiative to address the continued education of migrant and refugee children between the ages of 5 – 17 due to their non admittance into the public school system. Education is a fundamental right of all children according to Article 28 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC); the International Covenant on Economic, Universal Declaration on Human Rights; Social and Cultural Rights; and the Convention against Discrimination in Education. Nevertheless, children and adolescents all around the world are unable to access education. In T&T, children from the migrant, refugee and asylum-seekers community are not allowed access to the national school system.
Equal Place (EP) is an education strategy and programme being offered by Living Water Community with financial support from UNICEF and UNHCR. EP is a blended learning programme which is delivered primarily through e-Learning platforms such as Dawere Global, with opportunities for in-person support to clarify and reinforce knowledge, thus enhancing the learning process.
With the full implementation of the strategy, out-of-school children and adolescents are afforded access to education services and content, adapted to individual educational needs, with an aim toward accredited certification. The strategy utilizes estimates based on UNHCR’s published information on the number of asylum seekers who are children on the move in T&T.
EP operates in physical locations:
- CREDO, Port of Spain
- St. Theresa’s Church Hall, Barataria
- Naparima College, San Fernando
- La Romain RC Primary
- St, Martin de Porres R.C Church Hall, Fyzabad
- Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Roman Catholic Church (Icacos)
At Equal Place, each learning space (virtual and physical) will provide the following services:
- Psychosocial Support
- Child Protection including early identification of special needs and referrals
- Education Support
- Communication and life-saving messages, including information on child protection, weather bulletins, health advisories, and safety tips.
When the programme was launched, the registration process was designed to protect the data of children and adolescents from the PwS population through the implementation of three (3) steps:
- Online registration
- Enrolment
- Placement
Online Registration
The online registration is made available at Información de Registro (google.com) in both Spanish and English for families to express their willingness to participate in the programme.
Registrants can also first Whatsapp the Education Administrative Assistant at +1 886 433 1601 and they receive an automated response with the registration form link and message in both Spanish and English.