Amal Alliance
Executive Summary
Project Host
Fellows
Lissett Mary Babaian, Social Entrepreneur Fellow
Melissa Hogenboom, Research Fellow
Natalia Kucirkova, Research Fellow
Laura White, Social Entrepreneur Fellow
Introduction
LEAP Fellows have produced a case study (downloadable below) documenting how Amal Alliance (hereafter referred to as Amal) has scaled its SEL product, Colors of Kindness, both in formal and informal education settings. The case study focused on the following key areas:
How did Amal build its evidence base?
How did Amal influence stakeholders in both formal and informal education settings
Scaling Set Backs & Opportunities
Next Phase of Growth
The LEAP Fellows conducted regular interviews with Amal as well as an agile digital Q&A.
The case study is an easy-to-digest product, which has three key audiences in mind:
Founding Teams
Governments
Funders
The product is intended to serve as: 1) public good that Amal will publicize and disseminate to other NGOs and stakeholders, and 2) a tool that Amal can use to continue its scaling journey.
Organization’s role & strength
Founded in 2017, Amal Alliance (Amal) is a nonprofit, US-based Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) dedicated to empowering displaced and disenfranchised children through education and social development programs. They provide 4 pillars of support, 1) Social Emotional Learning, 2) Early Childhood Development, 3) Psychosocial Support, 4) Peace Education, to children around the globe in both refugee camps and formal school settings.
Amal Alliance’s nimble and agile nature allowed for an innovative response to both the education and growing mental health crises during and post COVID-19. When the pandemic hit, not only were already vulnerable children at further risk, but all children were stripped of their educational pursuits and ability to play with their peers. Like the rest of the world, Amal was forced to pivot from their traditional in person classes and explore how to best leverage technology. They quickly repackaged their social and emotional expertise in a dynamic and innovative way that garnered rapid traction by making SEL accessible to communities that were underserved. Across its four SEL programs – Colors of Kindness (a blended learning program), Superhero Academy (a home-based learning program), and Rainbow of Education (a teacher training program with accompanying curriculum), and Mini Rainbow (curriculum for 3-6 year olds) – Amal has reached over 276,000 children across 43 schools and other educational settings in 5 countries, 3 continents, and across 4 geographical locations in Bangladesh, Greece, Lebanon, Turkey, and Uganda.
As a volunteer-led core team, they have skillfully perfected the art of leveraging partnerships, networks, and key stakeholders to further the collective mission of all, whilst building an evidence base for SEL within education in emergencies.
Need summary
Amal sought to create a comprehensive roadmap on how they integrated social and emotional learning (SEL) into both formal and non-formal education systems in Greece, Bangladesh, and Uganda.
The roadmap would capture the best practices and strategies that were used to build institutional capacity among various educational stakeholders, and how important strategic partnerships to mobilize collective efforts, and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions. Given the lack of research in this area, it would serve as an invaluable public good, with the potential to exponentially increase impact by sharing the learnings across both the education and humanitarian sectors.
Amal’s team lacked expertise in marketing, communications, and research, which required the LEAP global cohorts knowledge to create this communication tool. Ultimately, Amal hopes this tool will provide valuable learning opportunities for other Founding Teams, Governments, and Funders to understand the model and use it as a case study on how to move towards holistic whole child development.
Solution summary & next steps
The case study provides a set of best practices and practical insights for other early-stage ventures seeking to build their evidence base and influence stakeholders.