Child and Youth Education Response Activity (CYERA) | 72066020RFA00002

Opportunity Information: Apply for 72066020RFA00002

The Child and Youth Education Response Activity (CYERA) is a USAID-funded cooperative agreement designed to help children and youth in the Democratic Republic of the Congo keep learning in areas affected by conflict, displacement, disease outbreaks, and natural disasters. The opportunity is grounded in the reality that the DRC is considered one of the most fragile countries globally, where prolonged instability is driven by overlapping ethnic, international, and financial interests and worsened by weak governance and limited rule of law. In many communities, armed groups and warlords fill the power vacuum, creating unsafe conditions that interrupt daily life and make consistent schooling extremely difficult.

CYERA focuses on the education emergency facing girls and boys who experience repeated shocks, including violence, displacement, and public health crises. With roughly 4.5 million internally displaced persons, the education system is under intense strain, especially given estimates that about 1.8 million school-aged children are in need of education support. In many places, children are trying to learn amid insecurity and disease. Schools may be closed for long periods, and attacks on schools are a documented problem. The grant summary highlights the Kasai regions as a stark example, citing 639 verified and unverified incidents during 2016 to 2017 involving shelling, burning, looting, and military occupation of schools. Beyond direct attacks, conflict damages school buildings, disrupts academic calendars, and leaves classrooms without enough trained teachers, all of which sharply reduces access to education and undermines learning outcomes.

The activity also recognizes that barriers to education are not limited to active conflict zones. In mining areas, schooling can be especially complicated for indigenous groups and transient or migrant families. Social tensions and discrimination can lead to exclusion, including reports of children being turned away from school simply because they are not from the local area. This context matters because it shapes how education services must be designed: programs need to be responsive to mobility, insecurity, and social division, not just focused on traditional school support.

The goal of the CYERA cooperative agreement is twofold. First, it aims to increase access to responsive education services, meaning education opportunities that can continue or quickly resume even when communities are disrupted by conflict or displacement. Second, it aims to improve the delivery of quality foundational instruction that is both gender-responsive and crisis-responsive, with an emphasis on early, core learning skills that children need to progress in school. In practical terms, this points to approaches that help children re-enter learning, remain in school, and receive instruction that accounts for safety risks and the specific obstacles faced by girls in crisis settings.

From a funding and administrative standpoint, the opportunity was issued by USAID-Kinshasa under Funding Opportunity Number 72066020RFA00002. It was offered as a cooperative agreement, which typically means substantial involvement by the funding agency during implementation compared with a standard grant. The total award ceiling listed is up to USD 38,000,000, with USAID expecting to make one award. Eligibility is described as unrestricted, meaning a wide range of entity types could apply as long as they meet any additional requirements in the full announcement. The opportunity was created on December 12, 2019, and originally closed on February 17, 2020, under CFDA 98.001 and the education funding activity category.

• The Agency for International Development, Democratic Republic of the Congo USAID-Kinshasa in the education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Child and Youth Education Response Activity (CYERA)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 98.001.
• This funding opportunity was created on Dec 12, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 17, 2020. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $38,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

Apply for 72066020RFA00002

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