The Luminos Fund Announces First Cohort of the Luminos Method Learning Lab

Four African-led organizations selected to advance joyful, transformative foundational learning across sub-Saharan Africa.

BOSTON, Dec. 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Luminos Fund, an international nonprofit helping the world's most vulnerable children to catch up and thrive in school, is proud to announce the inaugural cohort of the Luminos Method Learning Lab, welcoming four outstanding African-led organizations in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and Tanzania, as part of the 2025–26 cycle.

Through training, an immersive Luminos classroom learning experience, and a seed grant of up to $35,000 USD, these partner organizations will bring the Luminos Method to life in their communities—advancing joyful, transformative foundational learning for the most marginalized children.

At Luminos, we believe every child deserves the chance to learn, and sustainable change requires collaboration with locally and nationally rooted organizations. The Luminos Method Learning Lab translates this belief into action, creating a structured space for partners to learn from and build upon the Luminos Method—our evidence-based approach to joyful, foundational learning that accelerates education outcomes for the most vulnerable children.

The inaugural Learning Lab cohort includes:

• Aid for Rural Education Access Initiative (AREAi), Nigeria
  AREAi is a grassroots, purpose-driven organization that works with under-resourced schools and marginalized communities to improve access to quality education. Through the use of technology, innovation, and community collaboration, AREAi addresses learning gaps, digital inequity, and skills development for children and youth from low-income families.
• Education Empowerment for Rural and Urban Slums Initiative (EERUi), Kenya
  EERUi is a community-based nonprofit organization committed to improving education outcomes in low-income communities. The organization works with caregivers, educators, and local leaders to strengthen early childhood education, improve foundational literacy and numeracy, and promote sustainable, community-led learning models.
• Literacy and Development through Partnership (LDP), Ghana
  LDP supports children and adults in northern Ghana to learn to read and apply literacy skills to improve their lives. The organization partners with local Dagomba trainers and public schools to strengthen the quality of basic education through teacher training, development of reading materials, and advocacy for mother tongue-based multilingual education.
• Uwezo Tanzania, Tanzania
  Uwezo Tanzania works to improve education quality for children and youth through nationwide assessments, public awareness, and strong community engagement. It designs and scales evidence-based interventions in literacy, numeracy, early childhood development, mental health, life skills, digital literacy, climate change education, and gender equity. Committed to inclusivity, Uwezo empowers communities to advocate for better learning outcomes and strengthens systems to ensure every child thrives and reaches their full potential.

Through the Luminos Method Learning Lab, partner organizations will:

• Participate in hands-on training to apply key elements of the Luminos Method in their own programs and classrooms.
• Immerse in the Luminos classroom experience, engaging directly with Luminos staff, partners, teachers and students to observe best practices in action and deepen their practical understanding of program delivery.
• Receive seed grants to adapt, test, and refine these practices within their own communities and education systems.

Together, Luminos and its partners are cultivating a growing network of organizations committed to unlocking the light of learning for every child.

Strong Demand for Education Across the Region
The inaugural Learning Lab cycle received more than 70 applications from organizations across sub-Saharan Africa and beyond, reflecting strong demand for evidence-based approaches to foundational learning. Applications represented a range of countries—including Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe—underscoring the broad momentum behind the movement for joyful, effective foundational education.

About the Luminos Fund
The Luminos Fund runs a catch-up education program for some of the most vulnerable and hardest-to-reach children in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. In just one school year, children learn how to read, write, and do math through a joyful, activity-based curriculum that helps them catch up and thrive in school. Luminos' mission is to ensure all children have equal access to joyful, foundational learning—especially those shut out of education by crisis, poverty, or discrimination. To date, Luminos has helped hundreds of thousands of children secure a second chance to learn.

For more information about the Luminos Method Learning Lab, visit www.luminosfund.org or contact Michael Stulman at [email protected].

SOURCE Luminos Fund