Virginia
Mars School:
Pioneering
Quality Education
to Combat Child
Labor in Bahia
The community arm of the Mars Center for Cocoa Science (MCCS) in Brazil,
known as the Virginia Mars School, has taken a leading role in supporting
the quality of education as a fundamental pillar for mitigating child labor in
the Bahia region. Over the course of 36 years, spanning from 1987 to 2023,
more than 2400 students have successfully completed their studies at
the school.
The school has become a vehicle and a social innovative powerhouse that
connects MCCS with future generations (+250 students), cocoa industry
and communities, and allows for best
practice transfer to happen. Specifically,
Mars is advocating for the adoption of
a Sustainability School Curriculum that
includes topics from racial and youth
inclusion, biodiversity, and cocoa science
for children as well as the development
of the Bee-Sustainable program where
currently +25 farming families are getting
the opportunity to create additional income
through harvesting honey from Urucu
honeybee in the Cabruca systems.
Elevating
Futures: A Unique
Public-Private
Partnership for
Quality Education
in Côte d'Ivoire
In 2020, we made a $3.3 million investment to support the Jacobs
Foundation's creation of a public-private funding facility aimed at
promoting quality education, in line with the Côte d'Ivoire government's
strategic objectives in the fight against child labor. Led by the Ivorian
Government in collaboration with the cocoa and chocolate industry and
philanthropic foundations, the Child Learning and Education Facility (CLEF)
was officially launched in June 2022. CLEF is dedicated to enhancing
access to and the quality of education in cocoa-growing regions of Côte
d'Ivoire by constructing school infrastructure, training teachers in effective
pedagogical practices, and engaging parents in their children's learning.
Together, we aim to impact the lives of over 4 million children.
OUR 2022 ACHIEVEMENTS
Access to safe, quality education for
youth in cocoa farming communities.
Access to quality education and development
opportunities for children are critical components
of driving better long-term futures for children in
cocoa-growing communities. Investing in education
can have a positive circular effect: educated
children can earn higher incomes as adults and
contribute more to the development of their own
children, households and communities.
OUR AMBITION FOR
Access to
Quality Education
MARS | COCOA FOR GENERATIONS | 2022 ANNUAL REPORT | PAGE 13
ADVANCING RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS | ACCESS TO QUALITY EDUCATION