2016 ICT4D Conference

Through funding from the UK Department for International Development's (DFID) Girls Education Challenge (GEC), Theatre for a Change (TfaC) is implementing Tiphunzire! (Let's learn!), a set of intervention activities that aim to improve the access, retention and learning outcomes of marginalized girls in 225 primary schools throughout Malawi.
There are 315 teachers running the programme trained by TfaC and with a small staff base TfaC needs to collect field data from rural communities creatively and reliably. Technology provides the opportunity to do this in depth and in real time.
Based on an mHealth model, TfaC trains all project teachers in the collection of data and the use of the data collection platform Mobenzi. Participant teachers receive a project smart-phone which provides the designated reports, delivered immediately to the Mobenzi server, ready for analysis. In conjunction with a standardised monthly report, the project collects a wide range of data and attitudinal indicators. The monthly report alone has gathered over a million data points, and this real-time data on: attendances, project effectiveness and attitudinal change has changed the nature of the project dramatically. Enhanced by both quantitative and qualitative data being collected effortlessly side-by-side.
As a result, the feedback loops have tightened and the project is able to analyze patterns quickly to understand what strategies works and what needs more focus. The low staff resources and high yield technology has brought to the project cannot be underestimated and TfaC is committed to utilising this feature for improving the educational outcomes for the most marginalized throughout Malawi.