USAID Read Liberia Activity is a five-year early grade reading (EGR) activity managed by RTI International in close collaboration with the Ministry of Education (MOE). Read Liberia objective is to improve EGR skills of Liberian students in grades one and two (G1 and G2) and to pilot test support for the development of emergent literacy skills among kindergarten (KG) students.
Read Liberia has designed an SBC component that applies behavioral theories that targets real and perceived barriers, and motivates parents, teachers and community members to adopt positive behaviors, or practices, that support a child’s ability to learn to read. Read Liberia’s integrated SBC plan uses multiple strategies, including, communication such as interpersonal communication (IPC), limited mass media, advocacy, social mobilization, and community engagement.
Read Liberia’s Community and CBOs model for supporting schools and teachers in early grade reading is one piece of Read Liberia’s overarching SBC Communication Plan. This document presents in detail the Read Liberia Activity’s innovative, low-cost, and effective model for community engagement. The first section describes the fundamentals of community engagement and that it is a strategy of Read Liberia’s integrated Social and Behavior Change approach. The second section of the document illustrates the “how” of community engagement and its application under the Read Liberia Activity.
This document has been prepared in fulfillment of IR 4, Technical Deliverable No.1, of the USAID Read Liberia Activity contract. It was prepared with RTI’s Read Liberia subcontractor Another Option, LLC.