Rio Tinto Scholarship Education Program

Pact implemented an integrated livelihoods project, funded by Rio Tinto for two terms (2012 – 2022), which aimed to improve access to quality education and access to employment for children and youth in the Anosy Region in the Southern part of Madagascar. This integrated project intervened to improve access to education, enhance youth employability, improve youth access to key information related to education and employability, and improve sexual and reproductive health and life skills for youth. Pact worked with the private sector, local government, and both public and private schools to improve the quality of and access to education for future workforces living around the three different concession sites. Pact helped establish 15 student associations to advocate for a better school environment by engaging with their school principals. Overall, the project provided more than 5,000 scholarships to middle school, high school, and university students and more than 9,000 students participated in free tutoring classes, and nearly 900 students participated in the university job fairs, and another 900 students completed leadership and civic education trainings.