African Educational Trust

AET started working in Somalia in 1996, at a time when many organisations were leaving the country after the aborted UN Peacekeeping mission. By working through local staff, organisations and institutions we have been able to continue to operate throughout the country despite successive cycles of drought, famine and conflict.

AET programmes support government and community efforts to re-establish formal education at both primary and secondary school levels. Our work in establishing AET primary and secondary school examination systems is restoring communities’ confidence in the education system as a whole. We have also partnered with local and Ugandan universities to support the training of teachers and managers to help rebuild the school system. Over the past ten years, our long history of working with education ministries has led us to support the development of the national curriculum framework.

AET also provides non-formal education opportunities for people who have missed the chance to attend school. In Somalia, our radio literacy programmes, using humorous stories on topical issues, were aired throughout the entire country and have made AET a household name. We also provide classes for displaced people, out of school youth and adults living with disabilities, in basic literacy and numeracy, alongside much needed vocational training.

In all our work, we focus on excluded groups including pastoralists and people in remote rural communities, families displaced by conflict or drought, ethnic minorities, people living with disabilities, and girls and women. We have also provided education to former combatants and police officers, in order to support the development of a more peaceful and democratic country.