‘Everyone has the right to education’, states the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Drafted in 1948 by a United Nations committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, the statement seems indisputable. Yet, according to UNICEF, more than 40 million children in Africa are denied access to education. African nations struggle to provide quality education for children.

Lack of resources, classrooms, trained teachers, books and school supplies all contribute to the challenge. On a continent where only half of all adults are literate, Africa’s future economic and social development relies on educating the next generation.

But how can 40 million children receive a high quality basic education? One solution is radio.

Radio is the most widespread mass media tool in the world, and radio distance learning is a proven success in educating out-of-school children. World-class educators produce formal school curricula for the radio, but often students cannot hear it because teachers and schools cannot afford radio batteries, and few rural areas are electrified. The Lifeline Energy partners with educators, local communities and national governments to ensure school programming reaches learners through the Lifeline radio.