Teach For All is responding to today’s “polycrisis”—a combination of geopolitical conflicts, climate disasters, and economic instability—by ensuring that children in crisis-affected regions continue to access quality education. Across fragile and stable contexts alike, the organization emphasizes that education is more than learning; it provides stability, helps children recover from trauma, and fosters resilience and agency. Traditional emergency education programs such as school rehabilitation and textbook distribution are important, but Teach For All has found that achieving meaningful change requires collective leadership across schools, governments, and communities.
The organization’s Education in Emergencies (EiE) initiative prioritizes holistic learning outcomes, strengthens formal education systems, and bridges the gap between development and humanitarian aid. Central to its approach is the principle that EiE responses must be timely and locally-led. Teach For All’s network partners, embedded in their communities, are uniquely positioned to respond effectively during crises, leveraging deep trust and local knowledge to support children and families immediately after emergencies.
To facilitate rapid and flexible support, Teach For All launched its Emergency Relief Fund, a nimble granting mechanism that directs resources to network organizations within 72 hours of need. The fund not only enables immediate crisis response but also supports core operating costs, allowing local organizations to maintain long-term educational programs even during emergencies. Decisions are guided by an independent committee of humanitarian professionals, ensuring both speed and strategic oversight.
The Emergency Relief Fund has already made a significant impact. Over the past two years, it has provided $1.8 million in grants to 19 partners, supporting more than 3,500 teachers and maintaining educational continuity for over 115,000 students. In Lebanon, funding supported internally displaced children during escalated hostilities, offering trauma-informed pedagogy, psychological first aid, and teacher wellbeing programs. In Kenya, the fund helped restore schools and learning materials after devastating floods, provided psychosocial support, and enabled virtual learning through additional mobile data. In Haiti, it empowered local leaders to deliver first aid and trauma management amid gang violence, ensuring safe spaces for children to learn and heal.
By putting local leaders in charge of their communities’ recovery, the Emergency Relief Fund ensures education and psychosocial support continue even in unstable contexts. All contributions go directly to network partners, who understand the communities best and remain present long after global humanitarian attention has shifted. This approach allows Teach For All to protect progress in education, empower local leadership, and ensure children’s safety and learning continuity in the face of crises.
