The Empowering Communities through Strategic Actions for Transformation (ECOSAT) project was launched as a complementary intervention to the Educating Nigerian Girls in New Enterprises (ENGINE II) Program funded by the Foreign

Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) through the Girls Education Challenge (GEC).

TCF ED and other stakeholders at ECOSAT dissemination meeting

ECOSAT project was a Youth Education Project implemented between September 2018 and November 2020 (26 months).

The project supported over 5000 marginalised youth between 17 to 30 years by improving their life chances and learning outcome, providing them linkages with economic opportunities, and equipping them with basic literacy and numeracy skills, life skills and financial education.

FCT ECOSAT Project participants

ECOSAT project collaborated with youth groups/ associations in its implementing communities in a bid to influence behavioural change at family and community level.

A fundamental partnership of the project was with Agency for Mass Education (AME), a nationwide agency with the responsibility of providing literacy programs to suit the needs of youth and adult illiterates. They were instrumental in supervising teaching and learning components and the activities of Learning Centre Facilitators (LCFs) to ensure compliance with the defined quality and standard of teaching.

TCF ED and other stakeholders at ECOSAT dissemination meeting

Mercy Corps Nigeria led the implementation of the project in Nigeria while Tabitha Cumi Foundation implemented the project in the FCT, Abuja.

On the 26^th of January 2021, Mercy Corps Nigeria, Tabitha Cumi Foundation, and other partners held a virtual dissemination meeting to mark the close out of the Empowering Communities through Strategic Actions for Transformation (ECOSAT) project. Stakeholders joined virtually while others were physically present.

On ECOSAT project, the following were achieved:

• Improved learning outcomes of marginalised youth (boys/girls) in basic literacy and numeracy, life skills and financial education.
• Youth clubs were established and strengthened for peer- to-peer learning and mentoring
• Participants were supported into higher education through provision of scholarships to enable them to return to school and earn better grades.
• Marginalized youth have improved financial inclusion
• Strategic behaviour change communication was provided to promote youth education and economic empowerment

TCF ED, stakeholders and participants at ECOSAT dissemination meeting