Sesame Workshop Scores Funding to Help Young Refugees

As part of the 100&Change competition, the MacArthur Foundation awarded a $100 million grant to Sesame Workshop and International Rescue Committee (IRC) to educate children displaced by the conflict in the Middle East.

Sesame Workshop and IRC will use the money to implement an evidence-based, early childhood development intervention meant to address the “toxic stress” experienced by kids in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Syria. The initiative aims to improve children’s learning outcomes today and their intellectual and emotional development over the long term.

“We are compelled to respond to the urgent Syrian refugee crisis by supporting what will be the largest early childhood intervention program ever created in a humanitarian setting,” said MacArthur President Julia Stasch. “Less than two percent of the global humanitarian aid budget is dedicated to education, and only a sliver of all education assistance benefits young children. The longer-term goal is to change the system of humanitarian aid to focus more on helping to ensure the future of young children through education.”

“The Syrian refugee crisis is the humanitarian issue of our time and we are deeply grateful for this incredible opportunity,” noted Jeffrey D. Dunn, the president and CEO of Sesame Workshop. “For almost 50 years, Sesame has worked around the world to improve the lives of children and help them to grow smarter, stronger and kinder. This may be our most important initiative ever and we are humbled by the trust and confidence that has been placed in us. These children are, arguably, the world’s most vulnerable and by improving their lives we create a more stable and secure world for us all.”

David Miliband, the president and CEO of IRC, called the 100&Change grant “a transformational investment that will bring hope and opportunity to a generation of refugee children. This MacArthur grant will create a model for investment in early childhood services around the world. IRC’s partnership with Sesame is an incredible validation of our determination to put education center-stage in humanitarian settings. I hope the new kind of philanthropic thinking embodied by this grant will be an inspiration to others seeking to tackle the world’s largest problems. At a time when governments are in retreat, NGOs and philanthropists need to step up, and that is what we are seeing here—and in a big way.”

“There are not many times in life when you’re given the opportunity to change the world. By harnessing the unique strengths of our two organizations, we will create the largest early childhood intervention in the history of humanitarian response,” added Sherrie Westin, the executive VP of global impact at Sesame Workshop. “Our program will be life-changing for millions of Syrian children and their families and this award is a recognition of the urgency and need to give refugee children a path forward. We also want to acknowledge the work of the incredible 100&Change finalists, all doing such extraordinary work.”