N’Guessankro Montessori School

A child in a green checkered shirt arranges wooden rods of varying lengths in a white tray on a reddish-brown table.

Montessori learning materials are helping transform a rural classroom in Côte d’Ivoire into a place where children can learn, grow, and envision a future beyond the cocoa fields.

Impact of Our Work

A path beyond the cocoa fields begins with access to a safe, supportive place to learn. In rural Côte d’Ivoire, many children grow up in communities shaped by distance from school, poverty, food insecurity, and limited access to healthcare. For families facing these pressures, children may be drawn into agricultural work, not because families do not value education, but because daily survival leaves few alternatives.

At Kouassi N’Guessankro, a safe, structured, and nourishing school environment is helping change that path. Vern Lal Global Foundation, in partnership with AMMCI, EPAM, and Ivory Montessori School in Abidjan, provided Montessori learning materials to support hands-on, child centered education. AMMCI contributes Montessori expertise and teacher development, while EPAM provides local, on the ground support for children and families, including education, nutrition, hygiene, and health monitoring. Ivory Montessori School helps extend Montessori knowledge and educational resources from Abidjan to this rural community.

Together, VLGF and these partners connect community support, educational programming, and Montessori practice to help children who might otherwise remain in cocoa plantations attend school consistently. Today, 65 children have left plantation work to enroll in school, where they can learn, build confidence, and imagine futures beyond the fields. Mothers describe the relief of knowing their children are safe, fed, supported, and monitored for health, allowing them to focus more fully on their own work and strengthen their households. Yet the need remains urgent: approximately 60 additional children in the community still lack access to school, and continued support is essential to help enrolled children remain in education.

Gallery

A woman stands behind a peach-colored wall, above shelves with educational Montessori materials and mats, in a room with natural light.

Nine adults sit in a circle on the floor and chairs in a covered open-air classroom, engaging in a group activity with wooden blocks.

Two women sit on the floor by a blue mat with Montessori letters and a wooden tray in a classroom setting.

A young child sits at a table in a classroom with educational materials, including world maps and puzzles, on shelves in the foreground. The classroom is open to an outdoor view.

A young child in a green uniform sits on a wooden floor, arranging plastic fruits and vegetables on a blue mat, with other children visible in the background.

Three children in green uniforms sit at a wooden table, painting with brushes and colorful paints on a palette in a classroom setting.

Gallery

A woman leans on an orange windowsill above wooden shelves holding Montessori educational materials and baskets, with yoga mats and trees visible outside.

A group of people sit in a circle on mats and chairs in a covered open-air space, engaged in a group activity or discussion.

Two women sit on the floor next to a blue mat with Montessori movable alphabet letters arranged and stored in a wooden box.

A child sits alone at a table in a spacious classroom. In the foreground, educational materials, including world maps, are displayed on a wooden shelf.

A young girl in a green uniform sits on the floor arranging plastic fruits and vegetables on a blue mat in a classroom with other children in the background.

Three children in green uniforms sit at a wooden table, painting with brushes and colorful paints on trays in a spacious room with a gray floor.