Our Work

Project Backpack

Delivering the promise of education for all: leveraging technology to
scale literacy outcomes for out-of-school refugee learners.


In partnership with:

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Program Overview

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Learning 16X faster than national average
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88% letter knowledge mastery
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55%  reading 60 WCPM fluency
A girl using a tablet in Project Backpack in the Imvepi Refugee Settlement in Terego District in West Nile Uganda
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Program Components

number 1 in program components
Community-Led
number two in program components
Offline, Open-Source
number three in program components
Artificial Intelligence
number four in program components
Inclusive by Design
number five in program components
Social Accountability

We believe community and collaboration is the recipe to meaningful progress.

Communities know the problems they face best. They also know their strengths and assets. We bring our expertise to design and implement solutions, together.
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Community identified issues
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Asset-based Community Development approach
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No research and run. We research with and report to the communities we serve.

We use powerful, open-source solutions

There are an abundance of resources to solve learning poverty. We use openly developed, AI-enabled applications. All applications used are:
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Open-source applications
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Offline enabled
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Utilize adaptive feedback loops

We leverage artificial intelligence to accelerate growth

By honest, we don’t mean harsh. We put kindness and empathy at the centre of our business, so we, our employees and our customers enjoy working together.
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Unlimited paid leaves
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Health insurance for all
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Flexible work hours

Formative, inclusive feedback loops

We utilize continuous, formative assessments and inclusive feedback devices to inform and include both students and their families in their learning:
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Continuous assessments for continual feedback
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Formative assessments for targeted growth
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Inclusivity is front to maximise family involvement

We go farther together

Social accountability is a powerful mechanism for sustainability and family investment. Our devices are rotated between families while we leverage the power of sharing and group learning.
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VSLA-based rotating asset model
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Group and family learning encouraged

Insights & Recognition

We believe community and collaboration is the recipe to meaningful progress.

Communities know the problems they face best. They also know their strengths and assets. We bring our expertise to design and implement solutions, together.
A circle with a checkmark within it
Community identified issues
A circle with a checkmark within it
Asset-based Community Development approach
A circle with a checkmark within it
No research and run. We research with and report to the communities we serve.

We use powerful, open-source solutions

There are an abundance of resources to solve learning poverty. We use openly developed, AI-enabled applications. All applications used are:
A circle with a checkmark within it
Open-source applications
A circle with a checkmark within it
Offline enabled
A circle with a checkmark within it
Utilize adaptive feedback loops

We leverage artificial intelligence to accelerate growth

By honest, we don’t mean harsh. We put kindness and empathy at the centre of our business, so we, our employees and our customers enjoy working together.
A circle with a checkmark within it
Unlimited paid leaves
A circle with a checkmark within it
Health insurance for all
A circle with a checkmark within it
Flexible work hours

Formative, inclusive feedback loops

We utilize continuous, formative assessments and inclusive feedback devices to inform and include both students and their families in their learning:
A circle with a checkmark within it
Continuous assessments for continual feedback
A circle with a checkmark within it
Formative assessments for targeted growth
A circle with a checkmark within it
Inclusivity is front to maximise family involvement
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2022 LEAP Challenge Project Host

LEAP is an MIT - SOLVE challenge that is focused on improving the evidence base of a product, program, or business model helping to bridge learning gaps for underserved children ages 2-12.

READ MOREREAD THE EVALUATION

Project Backpack at
MIT Migration Summit

Watch the session on Project Backpack at the MIT Refugee Action Hub (ReACT) discussing findings about how the value of inclusion in the process of learning is not only an important virtue, but important for outcomes.

Watch the session
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Published in ElementsEd

We published Silver Bullets & Sleeping Giants in ElementsEd: Research - Insights - Strategy. ElementsEd is an international journal that bridges the gap between educational research and everyday life in schools and classrooms with thoughtful, research-based, plainspoken prose.

READ the article
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We're currently exploring:

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Network theory
and social learning

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Hybrid learning school-out of school interaction

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Operational Scaling

Stories of Impact

Open.Ed Discussion on Innovative Pedagogies in NYC
Silver Bullets and Sleeping Giants
Main Office
14 Tufnell Drive
Kampala, Uganda
+256 776 175 164
West Nile Office
Cohere Hub - Zone 1
Imvepi Refugee Settlement
Terego District, Uganda
+256 776 175 164
Northern Office
Elephante Commons
Gulu City, Uganda
+256 776 175 164
Fundraising Office
612 Pershing Avenue,
Wheaton, IL 60189
+1(248)765-2414
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© 2023 | Pangea Educational Development Group | 612 Pershing Avenue, Wheaton, IL, USA 60189 | US 501 (c)(3) public charity, EIN 22-3936753 and an NGO in the Uganda, #MIA/NB/2022/12/5460.