For three years, high school students in Kosovo benefited from access to computers, internet, and the English language through USAID’s “Community Service through Extracurricular Activities” initiative.

The project installed computer labs at fourteen locations around the country. The labs were used for extracurricular computer and English classes, which were taught by university students using tailored curricula.

Many of the labs were in economically disadvantaged communities where the classes represented students’ only access to English, computer studies and the internet. The initiative was widely acknowledged as a set of useful activities for youth in places where there is often little else to do.

In total, more than 2,400 students were enrolled in classes, which met twice per week throughout the school year.

The initiative was organized under the USAID Focusing on Results: Enhancing Capacity Across Sectors in Transition (FORECAST) program, which is administered by World Learning. FORECAST provides training and study opportunities for Kosovars in many fields, as well as support for institutional strengthening and a variety of short-term technical assistance.

The schools are now formal owners of 11 networked computers, a printer and projector, and inverters and batteries to protect against frequent power disturbances.