Kids Can Code

Program Description

Kids Can Code provided engaging, hands-on coding and English language courses that helped children in Iraq and Jordan build foundational skills in STEM subjects, English, and applied learning.

From 2018–2019, World Learning and its partners Kano and Kurdistan Save the Children (KSC) implemented a successful new English language and coding instruction program for Syrian refugee children in Iraq. This pilot proved to be a transformational opportunity for hundreds of youth affected by the refugee crisis: the Kano computer kit program inspired students to learn English, instilled new career-relevant skills in computing and coding, and helped KSC centers keep engaging and educating students who are otherwise at risk of falling into child labor. 

Building on the success of the pilot, in December 2019 the Catalyst Foundation for Universal Education invested additional resources to deepen the program’s impact in Iraq and expand into Jordan. In Iraq, Kids Can Code offered an advanced program aimed at older students focused on higher level coding game development. Meanwhile, in Jordan, World Learning and Kano partnered with the Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development (JOHUD) to provide a coding and English course to 450 children ages 10–15. The participants included refugees from Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, as well as local Jordanian youth.