Bridging the education gap

Improving education opportunities is essential to challenging disadvantage. A number of initiatives with Lloyd’s market support have enabled equal and accessible education for children globally.

For many years Lloyd’s has supported the communities in which we work, particularly through the Lloyd’s Community Programme (LCP), which helps individuals achieve their full potential by backing projects that tackle disadvantage and foster opportunity.

China

In China, Lloyd’s took part in the country’s national poverty alleviation plan by helping to build a primary school in Laomeng Township, Yunnan Province, in partnership with China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, after the area was hit by a devastating landslide in 2008.

Lloyd’s provided more than £100,000 (RMB 1.3 million) for the construction of school buildings and facilities. In the years following completion of the new school, Lloyd's China has continuously supported the school’s development, with sponsorship for disadvantaged pupils.

To date, more than 200 employees from Lloyd’s have sponsored over 300 students, with eight of those students having gone on to study at university.

India

Lloyd’s has a long history of supporting educational projects in India which struggles with school drop-out rates and learning levels.

Its funding for United Way Mumbai (UWM) has supported the non-profit organisation’s educational venture, Project Ankur, which focuses on early childhood care and education, helping to advance the potential of young children living in slum communities as they transition from pre-school to primary school.

Lloyd’s funding has enabled Project Ankur to refurbish two Anganwadi Centres (rural child care centres) in the city of Karjat, near Mumbai, which give formal schooling to children aged 3–6 years and two Balwadi Centres (pre-school education and nutrition projects) in Mumbai.

With Lloyd’s support, UWM has been able to make the centres safe and child friendly, while implementing daily learning activities, supporting parents and caregivers, and training staff to improve the delivery of education services.

Mexico

In Mexico, non-profit corporation Fundación Únete has a mission to improve quality and equity in education through the integration of technology into teaching and learning processes for children in state schools.

With Lloyd’s support, the organisation has provided six schools with access to better technology, improving educational outcomes for around 1,600 students and 50 teachers per school year.

Providing a combination of training materials, personnel, technical support and educational content, Fundación Únete, with Lloyd’s funding, has been able to integrate technology into these classrooms and to help both teachers and students to develop digital skills.

Canada

Enactus describes itself as “the world’s largest experiential learning platform”, with initiatives across 36 countries.

The organisation works with university students who see business as a way to address social issues. Enactus develops the next generation of entrepreneurial leaders and social innovators who are passionate about advancing the economic, social and environmental health of the countries in which they live.

It creates and implements community empowerment projects where teams of students, guided by educators and supported by business leaders, conduct needs assessments in their community, identify potential solutions to complex issues, and implement community impact projects.

To date, Enactus has enabled 72,000 students across 1,730 campuses to implement projects which have positively impacted the lives of an estimated 1.3 million people each year.

The UK

Closer to Lloyd’s Lime Street home, our partnership with The Switch delivers community engagement between schools in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and businesses in the City of London.

The charity, which is committed to helping children and young people meet their potential, runs schools-based corporate volunteering for primary and second schools in the borough, with an emphasis on supporting young people from disadvantaged backgrounds with employability training. Volunteers can get in involved in a number of programmes including: the Aim2Attain scheme for mentoring students and facilitating employability; financial literacy workshops with the Abacus programme; the Head to Head initiative for developing students’ interview skills, supporting primary school students with reading and writing and introducing them to the world of work.

With Lloyd’s funding and support, The Switch is able to improve the social mobility of children in Tower Hamlets, setting them up for academic success and improved employment opportunities.