In a statement on Thursday, September 17, the two organisations announced that the partnership sought to improve learning and wellbeing outcomes for children affected by conflict and displacement in Kenya and Nigeria.
In Kenya, the selected organisations are Girl Child Network, Basic Needs Basic Rights and the Madrasa Early Childhood Programme, while TaRL Africa, Common Heritage Foundation, Centre for Girls’ Education and Restoration of Hope Initiative were selected in Nigeria.
The partners are predominantly women-led and bring experience in areas including early childhood development, foundational learning, refugee and host-community inclusion, psychosocial wellbeing, safeguarding and crisis-responsive education governance.
The partnership entered the grant design phase in August, with the organisations working with Co-Impact, the LEGO Foundation, strategic advisers and peer organisations to refine their strategies, strengthen learning and measurement and identify opportunities for collaboration.
The LEGO Foundation and Co-Impact said the initiative is designed to strengthen the wider education systems that children and communities rely on, enabling children affected by conflict and crisis to return to school, feel safe, learn and thrive.
In Kenya, Girl Child Network will focus on improving educational opportunities for refugee and host-community children, drawing on its work in foundational learning, psychosocial support, girls’ education and school re-entry.
Basic Needs Basic Rights brings more than two decades of experience integrating psychosocial wellbeing and resilience into public education systems, while the Madrasa Early Childhood Programme has worked for more than four decades to strengthen community-rooted and government-owned early learning systems.
In Nigeria, TaRL Africa will support foundational learning through Teaching at the Right Level, while Common Heritage Foundation will focus on education governance, community accountability and public systems.
The Centre for Girls’ Education will draw on more than 18 years of work supporting adolescent girls through girls’ education, safe schools, mentoring and trauma-informed approaches, while Restoration of Hope Initiative will focus on education, child protection and psychosocial support in conflict-affected communities.
The partnership comes as conflict and displacement continue to disrupt children’s education globally. The organisations cited UNICEF data showing that more than one in five children worldwide lived within 50 kilometres of an armed conflict in 2025.
Kenya and Nigeria were selected based on the scale of need and government commitment to improving education in crisis-affected settings.
The organisations said an estimated 17.8 million children are out of school in Nigeria, while more than 250,000 refugee children in Kenya remain outside the national education system.
Climate-related shocks have also disrupted education for millions of children in Kenya, according to the organisations.
The partnership will align with national priorities, including Nigeria’s Safe Schools Initiative and Kenya’s Shirika Plan, with the aim of supporting solutions that can strengthen public education systems over the long term.
The LEGO Foundation and Co-Impact said the selected partners will receive flexible support and work with strategic advisers as they develop practical pathways for change, with the wider goal of improving education, wellbeing and inclusion for children affected by crisis.
