The Maasai and a Cow
The Maasai is a tribe found in East Africa, Kenya and Tanzania. Maasai live a nomadic lifestyle which means they move from place to place in search for green pastures for their cows, goats, sheep and donkeys.
The Maasai is a tribe found in East Africa, Kenya and Tanzania. Maasai live a nomadic lifestyle which means they move from place to place in search for green pastures for their cows, goats, sheep and donkeys.
After decades of conflict that have battered the country and its education system, leaders in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have taken a crucial step toward improving education by updating national education standards and the school curriculum.
The introduction of the Electrify Africa Act (H.R. 2548) by Representatives Royce (R-CA) and Engel (D-NY), outlines a bold vision for U.S. engagement in energy infrastructure and programs across the African continent. The bill seeks to coordinate U.S. funding to achieve three goals in sub-Saharan Africa by 2020.
As I was flipping through the book Half the Sky for a school paper, I stumbled upon an organization called Girls Learn International. I had no idea that it would become so important to me down the road, but I began reading about its mission and was immediately drawn in. The next fall I decided to start a chapter of Girls Learn International (GLI) at my school. Unlike many typical after-school clubs, membership meant not just a fun activity but being a part of improving girl's education around the world. GLI seeks to educate and energize U.S. students in the global movement for girls' access to education. This mission held true at my school--no other club had so much initial enthusiasm!
The crisis in education is enormous, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Unfortunately, just when more support is needed, the international community has reduced its aid to education. UNESCO indicates there is a $26 billion financing gap for basic education. This financing is needed for capital investment in school infrastructure and to support recurrent expenditures, principally for teacher training and salaries. With the 2015 Millennium Development Goals' deadline looming, the time has come for the business community to step aggressively up to the plate and help hit a home run for global education.
For the past weeks, I've been traveling across Kenya, checking on our partner projects that were chosen to fill education gaps in rural Kenyan schools. At Daaba Primary in dry and dusty Samburu - where we first saw outdoor classrooms at blackboards under trees and watched young boys climb into a dangerous 40' well to fill water jugs for the school - my heart soared as we toured beautiful new stone classrooms and as the kids drank and filled their jugs from the new solar-powered well. Thanks to partnerships with multiple support groups, Daaba Primary now has 8 permanent classrooms and 250 students, half of them girls - a big change for a traditional Turkana community where girls have never had an opportunity for education.
I believe there is a momentous opportunity now to address the global lack of access to educational materials, using digital technology. The growth of mobile networks across developing countries has boomed in recent years; over the past year alone, mobile telecommunications services in developing nations have grown 78%, and 39% of the developing world now has access to 3G networks.
The school in the villages of Djangoula -- in far southwestern Mali -- had its formal inauguration ceremony this past January. The school is located between two villages; people of the Foulani tribe inhabit one village, Malinke in the other. For generations, the villagers have lived peacefully.
Today, I want to write about loss. I have been thinking a lot about this, since GlobalGirl had its first official yard sale recently, and I parted with a lot of little detritus from my past...things I once cherished that now seemed empty of their meaning, or personal association: a cigar-smoking female figurine from Cuba, a box full of old sound cables, some Howlin' Wolf CDS, and lots, lots, lots of books. I LOVE books. How does this happen? How does a person we love with abandon, suddenly seem so distant, or a passion say, for date squares suddenly replace your craving for brownies instead? Here's a great date square recipe, by the way.
In a tight budget environment for education, it is tempting to view ICT equipment and training as a luxury to cut. We can all think of a case where technology for technology's sake hasn't worked: an unused laptop in the corner of an overfilled classroom, an interactive whiteboard at a school without adequate electricity to support its use, a smartphone game developed for a population of youth without access to smartphones.