International Day of Women and Girls in Science: All Things Being Equal

“The roles that men and women play in society are not biologically determined. They are socially determined, changing and changeable.”  –  United Nations

There are scientists amongst us who will leave a legacy on the world. They will help complete the puzzle of disease, provide a light for innovation, close the canyons of ignorance, and invent new ways to look at this world. They will spend years cataloging, equating, failing, and trying again. They will learn another language — that of math and the sciences — and spend their lives using this language to uncover solutions and dissolve mystery. They are our translators of the possible.

With the challenges we face, socially and ecologically, we need every curious mind.

Rahel B. Faustine of Tanzania — supported through primary and secondary school, via the support of Asante Africa Foundation throughout; one of seven children supported by their mother’s subsistence farming — is one of these translators of the possible. After completing primary school in 2011, she joined secondary school, 5 kms away from home. Long distances and limited commuting resources is a major reason why girls dropout of school. Adding to this was a severe ear infection, which made it more difficult for her to travel during cold and rainy days. However, nothing deterred her. She successfully completed her secondary education and joined Arusha Technical College in 2016 to pursue Electronics and Telecommunications engineering.

“I decided to pursue Electronics Engineering because I was curious. People discouraged me and told me that a woman can’t be an engineer. I want to work hard to change these thoughts. I want to prove that a girl can achieve anything, if she has focus and vision. An educated girl has the potential to change the world.”

On this International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we celebrate her and the millions of other girls and women on this path.

                                                      Rahel explaining her recent experiments

But Rahel’s is too rare an opportunity. Two-thirds of illiterates around the world are women, not even permitted the resources or access to a basic education, much less the study of math and science and the advancement to higher levels of schooling. This is a reality of access but it also a long held social choice, an inequity that exists around the world — and a priority that needs to change.

With a higher level of education indicating not just the health and opportunities of women but of whole families and generations, with how essential science and technology is to participation in shaping our 21st Century world, the United Nations has committed to gender equality as a fundamental part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.Actual sustainable development — the breath, freedom, and resiliency of and for our world’s population — is reliant on the opportunities available to girls and women. They are our most powerful translators of the possible. Our investment in the language of empowerment — including the language of math and science — our belief in their possibility, is crucial to expanding the possibilities of generations.

“According to a study conducted in 14 countries, the probability for female students of graduating with a Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree and Doctor’s degree in science-related field are 18%, 8% and 2% respectively, while the percentages of male students are 37%, 18% and 6%.” – United Nations

In partnership with the United Nations and thousands of organizations and people around the world — and in East Africa, particularly — we’ve made a commitment to education as a path out of poverty and towards sustainability for all. We’ve seen the transformation possible. And we’ve seen what our girls can do.

We want our generation to be the one that ends extreme poverty. We, as a world, are close and it is women and girls around the world, in our classrooms and beyond, that are our greatest levers. We must be their greatest champions. Today marks a day where the world renews our commitment to girls and women in their sciences, and celebrate their possibilities in this fight. Onward, great scientists.

“For this I must work . . . to make sure that I change incredibility to credibility and possibilities from impossibilities.” — Rahel B. Faustine

Additional Resources:

Engaging Women in Science, Technology, and Innovation and Shaping Africa’s Future

United Nations Population Fund: Gender Equality

Rural Girls’ Education: Integrating Parents into the Equation

As part of its 15 year initiative for sustainable development, the UN included Gender Equality as number 5 on its list of sustainable development goals. Today, gender inequality continues to be a persistent issue around the globe. While women and girls represent half of the world’s population, and therefore half of its potential, 52 out of 143 countries have yet to take the step toward guaranteed equality between men and women (Gender Equality — Why it Matters).

A move toward making gender equality become a reality is providing women and girls with equal access to education and health care. One essential component is also ensuring girls and women have universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights.

Ashley Orton, former Global Programs Director of Asante Africa Foundation shares her thoughts on good practices in girls’ education and gender equality.

“Systems-level approaches are necessary to promote and support girls’ education and agency. School-based comprehensive sexuality education has an important function to serve by accurately informing youth about their bodies, health and rights; building demand for products, facilities, services that enable youth to act on healthy decision-making; and gradually transforming social attitudes and harmful cultural practices that curtail girls’ education. As UNESCO conducts the process of reviewing and identifying appropriate updates of the 2009 International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education (ITGSE): An evidence-informed approach for schools, teachers and health educators, now is a prime opportunity to reflect upon the role and efficacy of extra-curricular interventions, like Asante Africa Foundation’s Girls’ Advancement Program, which fill implementation gaps that inordinately affect rural schools. Through UNGEI support, the organization conducted an end-point evaluation to measure the results of its program’s first two years. The process of compiling findings for the case study led to scrutiny of the intervention design and a better understanding of how different pieces may affect outcomes. In particular, findings highlight how the intervention’s parental engagement model appears to augment the demand for girls’ education in rural, East African communities by addressing barriers that come into play at puberty.

The Asante Africa Foundation initiative, Wezesha Vijana (Empower Youth) is based on the theory that adolescent girls equipped with a combination of health and social assets will have the know-how, confidence, and conviction to attend school regularly and advance academically. The project develops health assets through after-school puberty and sexual and reproductive health workshops grounded in a human rights framework. When strategic partnerships and/or funding allow, the project also addresses supply-side issues related to managing menstrual hygiene at school by providing feminine hygiene products, safe and sanitary latrines and handwashing facilities.

 

                                            P&G, manufacturer of Always, donates sanitary pads to girls

Complementary social assets consist of peer support generated in after-school clubs and the opening up of family dialogue around the value of girls’ education and barriers to it. The assumption is that knowledge, behavior and confidence changes fueled by these assets will improve school attendance and decrease pregnancy-related dropout, favorably affecting academic performance and enabling girls to advance further in school. Indeed, a key finding of case study research was a promising outcome seen in academic performance: more than ten times as many Wezesha girls sampled scored above average marks in standard examinations compared to the control group.

Schools, teachers and community-based mentors are critical partners in workshop and club implementation. However, a focus on engaging families is equally important. Through structured meetings, mothers and their daughters examine barriers like early marriage that cut education short and preclude the potential economic and health gains more schooling and additional years prior to motherhood afford. They explore incentives that underlie these traditional cultural practices, such as parental desires to curtail sexual activity out of wedlock. Then they consider alternative strategies that address concerns and recognize girls’ ambitions. Case study research indicates that the intervention may affect family attitudes about the value of girls’ education and result in a more “hands-on” approach to parenting adolescent girls than traditional social norms promote. For example, findings showed that control group girls reported missing school to stay at home and help with household work 3.5 times more frequently than participants. This suggests that participants’ parents may place greater value on educating their daughters and supporting school attendance than parents not involved in the project.

Community & Family members are an integral part of meetings and workshops

Comprehensive sexuality education provides an opportunity to build children’s understanding of their bodies and how to confidently manage the changes of puberty.It gives them the intellectual tools they need to make informed decisions about sexual and reproductive health, and it can foster understanding and behavioral changes regarding gender-based violence.

All of these factors empower girls and build boys as allies in promoting girls’ equality. But, it is inadequate and unfair to place the burden of changing social norms about the role and value of girls solely on the shoulders of the young. Girls need the support of their families to succeed as much as their families need their success to thrive. Sexuality education interventions must intentionally integrate parents and create space for parent-child dialogue if they are to pack a stronger punch in promoting girls’ education.”

To know more about our program, click here. To support our efforts, clickhere.

Asante Africa contributes to Brookings Institution Panel on Innovation for Education

As one of the world’s leading think-tanks, The Brookings Institution has had a long history of conducting in-depth research that pave the way for ideas that have the potential to solve some of the thorniest problems in the world.

“We need to focus on the pockets of neglect and exclusion [in education].” – Rebecca Winthrop, Director for CUE at The Brookings Institution

The Brookings Institution hosted a session in December 2016 on Diversifying the Education Workforce and Promoting Innovation for the Learning Generation to share some of the most promising strategies and approaches in strengthening the teaching workforce including  panelists from esteemed organizations like PEAS Uganda, Teach for All and Asante Africa Foundation, and was moderated by Rebecca Winthrop, Director for CUE at Brookings Institute.

Asante Africa’s Strategic Partnerships Manager, Marie Bush, shared recent promising data and evidence from  Asante Africa’s Integrated Teachers Training (ITT) Program funded by Mastercard Foundation and an Anonymous Donor through the  PSIPSE Program. 

Marie shared “Providing quality education through national strategies is a challenge in itself. But it’s made harder when implemented in rural school districts where a variety of factors from remote locations to the lack of resources come into play. Teaching critical thinking, problem solving, and effective communications are 21^st century skills that are required from students today.” How are they to learn it in the current landscape?

“The fact that you’re getting to the source of the issues is key. Students weren’t engaged because teachers weren’t trained to encourage participation. Focusing on teachers is innovative because it’s going to shape how they deal with their classrooms forever. It will make them more impactful.” Marie Bush shared.

Because evidence has demonstrated that teachers have a greater impact and influence on their students’ learning, their gains from development and access to the latest tools means gains for students as well. Not only have outcomes shown increased participation, performance, and confidence from both teachers and students, it has also resulted in students successfully demonstrating more of those 21^st century skills that are held at such a premium today.

“Some times the best innovation comes from the need to be frugal and low cost. Frequently referred in the technology development world as frugal innovation.” –Erna Grasz, CEO Asante Africa Foundation

In the need to be cost effective, ITT made use of a “Train the Trainer “cascade model that allowed for larger scale and high penetration. “We were doing something elevated, low-cost, and scalable at the same time. We didn’t just make a bigger impact with limited resources, we changed the way teachers engaged with their students, and that’s something they’ll have in their toolkit forever.”

Being mindful to align with national education priorities also resulted in recognition from the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training and has opened the possibility of adopting the ITT Program for national implementation.

Marie’s thoughts about her participation say it best:  “The other panelists were representing organizations that were teaching a creative approach that were both innovative and impactful. It was an honor, and an extremely humbling experience, to be included and recognized for the caliber of our work amongst other high-caliber and super impactful organizations.”

To date, Asante Africa’s ITT program has brought learner-centered, participatory techniques to over 2,500 teachers, and has impacted over 25,000 students from 86 schools in rural Tanzania.

More About Marie Bush:

Marie Bush joined Asante Africa Foundation in 2016 after recently completing her advanced degree from University of Wisconsin-Madison – School of Business. Her passion for sustainable solutions, social enterprises and developing countries comes from her prior work experience with  World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU), USAID, and International Rescue Committee.

New Decade, New Look!

It’s amazing how much can change in 10 years! The world goes through dynamic transformations constantly, and as we like to teach our youth: you always have to get your game up, because it’s game on! Our brand for 10 years has served us well, but we knew it was time to “sharpen our tools” in readiness for what’s ahead.

Our brand consultant and designer, Aislinn, shares her account of how we did it.

“Asante Africa Foundation is a wonderful organization that supports education in East Africa. They are on a trajectory that will allow them to expand the good work they do in the coming decade. I was brought on to assist their team in generating a new logo and visual identity — complete with Graphic Standards that would guide them in redesigning their website. My role in the project was twofold: first, I brought guidance to the process of distilling goals and brand equity into concise direction; then, in the second stage, I did the graphic design that brought this new identity to life.

New Logo — What it means!

This new identity for Asante Africa is designed for multiple audiences, global use, professional presentation, and scalability. The logo in this new system is a two-component lockup that pairs the “Asante” logotype with a round badge. The badge may be used solo as a decorative, navigational, or iconic element. This pairing strategy allows the Asante Africa team to flex and evolve the identity without breaking it — additional badges could be developed for key programs as the foundation grows, for example.

The team came to me with a need for a more “education-centric” identity. We met that need by constructing a symbol-driven badge reminiscent of diploma seals, civic emblems, and local beadwork. The book, pencil, and sunburst elements all represent intellectual development. The tree represents life, growth, knowledge, and strength. For the US-based audience, the Acacia tree is also an African icon; a fact reinforced by the continent’s counter form among the branches.

The hand-drawn quality of the logotype (retained from the old logo) infuses a sense of the rustic, human, youthful, and organic into Asante Africa’s identity.

The “heart” and “warmth” of the previous logo was a must-have for the new work. Equity from the old logo was carried through to the new system by our choices to preserve the “Asante” logotype, evolve the tree imagery, and continue with an illustrative approach. These choices bridge the old and new visuals in a way that provides continuity for the organization.

Program Colors — What they signify!

The new visual identity was designed to be approachable and authentic. The warm, earthy colors connect to the natural and classroom environments. They also carry hospitable, social connotations in both the African service region and the US-based supporting community.

I’m proud of the work we’ve done and that which the Asante Africa team continues. The soul of the organization comes through brilliantly and the tighter execution elevates the brand to a level commiserate with the value of their mission. I feel lucky to have worked with Asante Africa because this project was, in effect, a way for me to pay forward the gifts I’ve received in my own education.”

By Aislinn Race

Aislinn is a brand consultant and designer from California. She is passionate about helping not-for-profit organizations and businesses put their best foot forward. www.aislinnrace.com

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

How often do you think of others?  I spend the majority of my day thinking about myself.  I think about the things I need to get done at work, what I am eating for lunch, what I have to get done at home after work and a multitude of other things that revolve around me.  Maybe I am unusually self-centered, but I would bet money that I am not.  It is easy for us to get caught up in our own lives and live in silos – mentally in isolation from the world around us. Sometimes it takes a catalyst to change our thinking.  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was such a catalyst and each year we remember his life and his message.  His impact is well known and he gave everything, including his life, in the pursuit of justice and equality for all.  As he famously said:

“An individual has not started living fully until they can rise above the narrow confines of individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of humanity.  Every person must decide at some point, whether they will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.  This is the judgment: Life’s most persistent and important question is, what are you doing for others?”

What are you doing for others?  The people of Asante Africa Foundation are focused on keeping the youth of rural East Africa in school, learning relevant skills and tools that will allow them to advance as change agents in their communities.  Their efforts shine brightly in the wonderful success stories such as that of Carolyne Sunte and Samson Nyongesa. These people are not just the staff conducting business in California and East Africa.  Rather, it includes each and every one of our beloved donors who also give their hard-earned money, which they invested their time earning, to support Asante Africa Foundation’s mission.

With their help, Asante Africa Foundation is able to make a difference correcting educational and social injustices in an impoverished region.  It is our calling.  Dr. King heard that call as well.  He felt that the world was connected and part of the same story.  One could not simply dig a hole and hide – hoping never to have an impact or be impacted.  It was unavoidable. In Dr. King’s own words:

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.  We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.  Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

Today, nearly 50 years after his assassination, Dr. King continues to impact the world through the efforts of others to keep his message and memories alive.  It was not easy work.  Though the legislation creating the federal holiday was passed and signed into law in 1983, it was not until 2000 that ever state recognized the holiday.  Spend some time and reflect.  What are you doing for others?  The smallest act can change a life, even change the world. 

                                                                                                            –   Written by Joshua Donnelly

You have an opportunity to engage with Asante Africa Foundation in more than one way. To volunteer click here. To support education click here.

 

Refreshed Brand | Revitalized Website

2017 is looking to be a landmark year for us at Asante Africa Foundation. With our 10th year anniversary celebrations on the horizon, starting the year strong is definitely the intention.

If you’ve been on any of our social media platforms lately, you’ll already have noticed a difference. Our newly refreshed brand and revitalized website is now live for all to see. As physical representations, we believe that both show our renewed commitment to continue doing what we do. Innovation and adaptability is a vital aspect to our programs and the tools we give our young people. Our ability to be able to do the same speaks to our readiness to face a new decade and a hopeful future.

                                                              Snapshot of the new website

 

                                                                       New logo, fonts & colors

Since we started Educating Children | Transforming Lives back in 2007, our organization has achieved milestones in the form of our youth being recognized for their achievements, and our educators for their innovations. It feels good to be acknowledged as thought leaders by industry peers for staying true to our mission all these years.

“As a donor, I have seen and continue to see how Asante Africa is educating children and transforming worlds, not just for our students, but also for their families and communities. As a Board Advisor…I have seen the growth of Asante Africa Foundation from a mere concept to an organization that is making a difference and teaching young people skills and empowering them to initiate change in their world and beyond.” — Shirley West, Advisor

To date, our programs have impact 259,00 lives and our vision is to impact over 1 million by 2020.

“Asante Africa made me realize my dream and helped me to see the leadership qualities in myself.” — Carolyne Sunte, LEI alumnus, and current Girls’ Advancement Program Associate

Our collective experiences from the past 10 years, coupled with our recent refresh, means the ground is set for continuing the work of educating and empowering the next generation of change agents.

Onward and Upward to the decade ahead!

To know more and to stay updated with what’s happening at Asante Africa, subscribe to our news letter.

Our Top Six Milestones of 2016

2016. What a year!

While it’s a great time to look fondly at the memorable milestones that marked the last twelve months, we’ll never tire of going back to the highlights that reinforced who we truly are, and our commitment to the young people we serve.

Accelerated Learning in the Classroom

1. Part of our efforts at improving students’ results is focusing on uplifting the quality of education. That’s why it was such an honor to be able to share the efforts we’ve put behind our 3 year project, Accelerating Tanzania’s Secondary Level Teachers’ Development through Partnerships, at the CIES conference panel in March. We also had that same privilege, at the Brooking Panel Presentation in December, to talk about what our teachers are able to do on the ground and how our model is recognized as a sustainable practice worth replicating even by the Tanzanian government.

LEI — Leadership Program

2. For an organization that believes in readying students for life beyond the classroom, it’s always satisfying to see our program mature and get better each year. We ended 2016 with 110+ new entrepreneurs and critical thinkers that are just as eager to make an impact in the world as their predecessors. To date, thousands of individuals have been impacted directly from their Pay it Forward activities.

3. This year we also launched a 5 year plan for how we can make this program self-sustainable by 2020. We witnessed companies underwriting the program to access our alumni, and other youth willing to pay to attend the program.

Scholarships

4. We have scholars that graduated high school, others who graduated university, and many are set to join the workforce. We were particularly excited to meet Samson Nyongesa, who came to the USA to share his journey, strifes, and achievements. It makes it all real to hear it firsthand.

Girls’ Advancement Program

5. Coming up with a program that can successfully keep girls in school has always been a priority. Our efforts were recognized as Good Practice by the United Nation’s Girls’ Education Initiative among hundreds of others is an incredible achievement. We’ve had 6000 girls graduate from Wezesha Vijana this year, and we can’t wait to build on present successes to keep our momentum going.

Partnerships make it all possible

6. Of course we can’t forget the funding partners that have helped us advance the above mentioned. Recognizing LEI’s unique strength of partnering with local professionals, companies, and universities and its emphasis on sustainable results, Social Capital Foundation matched , for the 3rd year, $20,000 in support of LEI.

Quest Foundation, who is aligned with us for girls’ leadership, pledged $23,000 in a match fund that stretches through the following year.

P&G has been a constant partner for our Girls’ Program, and Mastercard’s invaluable assistance has seen us through major growth in our teachers’ program. Their continuous support will surely ease our way into 2017.

As we prepare for this next year, we know we represent the hard work, dedication, and commitment from a broad community working together. Officially signing off for 2016, and primed for hitting the bigger goals ahead.

We have a big reveal coming up in January’2017. To know more connect with us on Facebook (AsanteAfricaFoundation), Twitter (AsanteAfrica) and make sure you follow our blog.

 

Leadership and Entrepreneurship Incubator’ 2016

We recently concluded the sixth year of our Leadership and Entrepreneurship Incubator program, at Bendel Memorial Secondary School in Moshi, Tanzania. About 85 students and 15 teachers attended the week long workshop along with 13 Asante Africa Foundation staff.

Shirley West, who has been attending the program since the beginning, tells us what she thought was the most significant thing in LEI this year — “The most significant thing to me was that this year a number of our alumni came back and facilitated sessions or were career speakers. The students really connected with them as they could relate to the alumni’s life stories and were inspired by the success they had achieved as they worked towards their dream. It was easier for them to relate to someone closer to their own age.”

Here’s a window to LEI if you’ve always wanted a peek.

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Trip to Dodoma – LSTT Workshop

Zelote Loilang’akaki, Manager of Strategic Partnerships at Asante Africa, Tanzania, attended a LSTT workshop in Dodoma, Tanzania. LSTT project aims to address the needs of students in Form I of secondary school who are making the transition from Kiswahili-medium primary schools to English-medium secondary schools. He gives us the first hand account of this meeting.

“On 14th Nov, I went to Dodoma, Tanzania to participate in a workshop for the launch of the second phase of LSTT (Language Supportive Teaching and Textbooks) project organized at Dodoma University. It is a project by three universities: the Bristol University (UK), the University of Dodoma, and St. John’s University of Tanzania. The project is supported by Partnership to Strengthen Innovation and Practice in Secondary Education.

The long term goal of LSTT Phase 2 is to improve learning outcomes in Mathematics, Science and Language, by educating teachers in theory and practice of ‘Language Supportive Pedagogies’ (LSP). LSP is an activity-based teaching method that supports “learning the language” of instruction across all curriculum subjects. It builds on students’ existing language capabilities, by allowing the student to use their main language to learn language in which they are being taught. This integrates language and subject learning, recognizing subject specific language demands. Example: it has a glossary where difficult text is translated into Kiswahili. It is focused on lower secondary students in disadvantaged communities, where the main language of the community is not the language of instruction.

Most of the participants were university lecturers from UDOM and St John University. Others were schools teachers from two districts where the project is being implemented.

Asante Africa Foundation was invited as one of the partners to share our experience and learning.

 

        Participants at LSTT workshop

Content of the workshop

The presenters talked about various topics including designing of simplified Mathematics, English and Biology books for Form 1, going beyond Science as a subject, training the teachers on using advanced books, involving key partners such as Tanzanian Institute of Education (TIE), District level Government education officials, Universities and relevant non-profit organizations. The developed books are simple to understand since they use LSP.

The LSTT has two outcomes — First, to prepare 9,000 graduates with the knowledge and skills to start implementing language supportive pedagogy in schools. Second, to enable teachers, partner institutions, curriculum developers and textbook publishers across Tanzania gain an appreciation of Language Supportive Pedagogy.

Asante Africa’s Presentation

The LSTT team wanted to understand Asante Africa’s efforts to enhance language for secondary schools and LSP. As representatives of Asante Africa, we gave a brief of our Integrated Teacher Training project, which is designed with the goal to scale an integrated, child centered educational model, to elevate quality of secondary school teaching, foster development of critical thinking skills and improved learning outcomes. We also presented the Public Debate Format (PDF), which is implemented under the ITT project. The key focus was to explain the difference between PDF and traditional debates, its implementation in 55 schools, the benefits and success stories.                                                      The approach was appreciated, and LSTT team will explore how to adapt it in their process. (Click here for a detailed presentation of PDF)

The following recommendations were made to LSTT team:

• The debate should be mandatory in the teaching process. The debates will boost students’ confidence and help them master the content and acquire the ability of expression.
• Subject clubs are vital. These clubs are where students meet and discuss subject specific content.
• The teachers and students should first have a debate among themselves, to make a trickle effect to students in their respective schools.

Way forward

The question was what information should be shared and how?

What to share?

• Information/data/ reports
• Success stories, experience and learnings

How to share?

• Create a central interface where the stakeholders will have access to information
• Channels including blogs, emails and social media.
• Conduct meetings with partners and ensure key stakeholders including Government and education officials are present.”

Reference: lstttanzania.wordpress.com

 

How Scholarships Can Help Close the Gender-Gap in Africa

Loren, Business and Marketing Associate at Asante Africa, started a personal fundraiser to send Frank — a student in East Africa to school. It started off with the goal to send 1 student back to school, but with the support of friends and family who believed in the cause, she can now support the education of 2 students (and its still going on). She talks about why scholarships are important and how can they help close the gender gap in Africa.

“With all the different aspects of development, it can be hard to say which is the best at combating poverty and providing the best opportunities for youth. And what I’ve come to notice is that less and less people have an interest in funding scholarships, due to concerns about the organization or a lack of knowledge about how scholarships help youth, especially girls.

Barriers to Girls’ Education

The core goal of a scholarship is to provide education to students (both boys and girls), who’s families cannot afford it (meaning without it, the child would never attend school). As an added bonus, scholarships for girls promote gender equality and help off-set the discrimination girls are facing today. In East African countries, such as Kenya and Tanzania and especially in remote, rural areas, girls face many barriers including oppressing cultural norms and traditional customs which hinder their chance at going to school. There are more barriers that affect a girl’s education than that of a boy’s: female genital mutilation, menstruation and pregnancy are just the tip of the iceberg. These barriers coupled with the chance to marry off their daughters at an early age means that for many families, boys are priority when it comes to education; thus, scholarships for girls are extra important.

On top cultural norms and traditional customs, education is not always free. In many cases, even the smallest school charges fees for students to study. In Madagascar, where I spent time as an English Instructor, students were required to pay 50,000 Ariary ($15) for school a year, when the daily average income for an estimated family of three (let’s imagine one parent and two children) is 5,000 Ariary ($1.50). For the poorest of the poor, school is not cheap by any means. And for families who do have enough money to send their daughters to school, girls often have to travel long distances to reach school. This leaves them vulnerable for miles on long, deserted roads, and many girls face sexual assault and even rape when walking to school.

Scholarships are an underestimated tool for getting more girls into school and closing the gender gap. Asante Africa’s scholarships promote gender equality by giving girls access to education. All AAF scholarships provide students’ school fees (meaning the financial burden is lifted from parents, and they no longer have to bear the hard choice of choosing which child to send to school) and provide room and board (meaning girls are no longer walking to school; they will be safer). Scholarships to girls means more girls will have access to education, closing the gender gap one girl at a time.

Concerns about Scholarships

So, why aren’t more people donating to scholarships? I’ve often heard concerns from people who have donated to organizations with similar causes that ‘there wasn’t really a child’, they ‘didn’t know where their money was going’and that next time, they’d rather spend their money elsewhere. All of these experiences have tainted the view of non-profit fundraising efforts for scholarships and credible organizations and their students feel the affect.

Organizations have to do their part in becoming a trusty worthy organization — and donors need to do the research for a good match. I feel that Asante Africa is a trustworthy and reliable organization and here’s what you should be looking for the next time you decide to fund a student’s education. First, Asante Africa Foundation has strong ties with our employees on the ground. Our CEO visits three times a year and can see first-hand where the money is going and how its impacting communities. Our financials are also public, so you can see where your money is being spent and feel good about donating it (all registered 501©(3)s financial records are public). In terms of the actual scholarship, don’t be afraid if the scholarship is a little more than what you expected. Good scholarships will provide housing, supplies such as school materials and uniforms, and of course, the actual school fees. Our scholarships also allow you to communicate with your student through letters, receive updates about their grades, and even a lucky few get to meet our students in the field.

How You Can Help Close the Gender-Gap with a Scholarship

Choose to spend as little as $80 a month on a girl (the price of a gym membership!) or donate yearly.

Get your family and friends involved and start a fundraiser for student scholarship; you don’t have to do this alone! Don’t believe me? See my success here! Many times friends and families are willing and are excited about the opportunity to help. Take a look at some of the comments my friends and family left me:

 

 

Want to be successful? Send them direct, short, personalized messages asking them to donate small amounts; people will donate what they can afford. Then tag them on Facebook posts, thanking them and getting the word out to their friends that they donated. Keep posting!

Here are some ideas I’ve seen for in-person fundraisers: Take some friends out wine tasting and charge per head; Ask people to donate for entry to a raffle; or Hold a fun game outdoors and charge people to play — It’s all for a good cause of course!”

Loren’s fundraiser is still live on Facebook. To support her efforts, click here! Every dollar matters!

Giving Tuesday: Let’s Celebrate!

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” – Winston Churchill

We are in the cacophony of the holiday season: the music, the traffic, the lights! The deadlines! The noise inside and outside of us collides for our attention. We invite you to turn down the volume. Step over here: in East Africa, we’ve quite a celebration going. Come, share our joy.

At Asante Africa Foundation, teachers at over a hundred schools were trained through our programs, ensuring improved instruction and chances for tens of thousands of students across East Africa. This wouldn’t exist without you and the work of so many at Asante Africa. What a ripple we’ve created!

You know the boldest challenge before us: we must empower our girls. Girls are far less likely than boys to complete primary (elementary or middle) school, especially in low-income countries where only 20% have achieved gender parity at the primary level and 10% at the lower secondary level. We, together, are transforming these numbers. We’ve empowered thousands of girls with an understanding of their basic human rights, the chance for schooling, and the confidence and skills to navigate the complex realities they face.

Supporting us in our efforts is the Quest Foundation, who have decided to match every dollar (upto 23,000) we raise for girls leadership.

Through the Leadership Entrepreneurship Incubator, nearly a thousand youth have built their capacity to lead the next generation of change agents. Young leaders like Samson Nyongesa and Carolyne Sunte, have truly imbibed out motto of ‘Paying it Forward’. Every day they are making efforts to make a difference in the lives of people around them. 

And we’re only getting started.

“How wonderful that no one need wait a single moment to improve the world.” – Anne Frank

There are many ways we vote for the world that we want. Most often it comes in the choices of where our time, mind, and dollars are focused. Giving Tuesday is an international effort to cast a vote for your belief in the capacity of others, for human rights, for equal educational opportunity.

“No one is useless in the world who lightens the burdens of another.” – Charles Dickens

We know you hold these values. These numbers can only be buoyed by your support. We invite you to join our celebration: send this post on, spread the celebration.

“It is the heart that does the giving; the fingers only let go.”— Nigerian saying

Thank you for joining us, from East Africa and beyond, with the millions of others who, today, celebrate!

 

 

Thanks in Living, Giving, & Receiving

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” – John F. Kennedy

In 1620, the harvest of the early American colonists had failed. Starvation settled in. Half of the settlers we now call Pilgrims perished that winter. The local Wampanoag tribe taught those that remained how to grow corn, catch fish, and collect seafood. They taught them how to survive. The following year the Pilgrims reaped a successful harvest and, in their gratitude, shared a feast with the locals.

In all the battles for survival and place and opportunity — then and now in the world — Thanksgiving invites us to see each other and the power within us as a blessing. It is a way we stop to find each other and ourselves. We share a grand meal as a ritual, a celebration, and a humbling pause.

What have we harvested? What have we given and received?

We asked our Asante team — What are you most thankful for?

“I am grateful for the staff in that live and breathe our mission in KE and TZ, and similarly for the USA-based staff and volunteers who tirelessly support the efforts on the ground. I am equally grateful for the executive leadership and advisors that guide our Global Mission and do a great job of holding us accountable. And most of all, I am grateful for partners, investors, and donors who have shown the same passion as we have in promoting education and knowledge.” — Erna

“Thankful for San Francisco, where everything feels like a new experience. I’m thankful for the chance to learn from, and work with, a great group of people. I can tell it will lead to even more things to be thankful for next year.” — Christy

“This thanksgiving I am grateful to be part of an amazing team, working towards a collective goal of changing lives in East Africa. I also feel very fortunate to have wonderful family and friends that support my crazy dreams!”— Jenn

“I am most thankful for my family and home. I am thankful that I enjoy good health so that I am able to travel and enjoy life.” — Shirley

“I’m thankful for the opportunity and privilege of being a part of a team working very hard today to create a better tomorrow for all.” — Fred

“I am most thankful for a good supporting system around me.” — Soumya

For us, our gratitude and faith pushes us forward: faith in the impact of our work for thousands — and faith in you, our supporters. Powerful change has already occurred. Educating thousands of children who would otherwise not receive access to education does not happen without all of us. As we come together, we know it is not often simple or fast but we are ever moving forward. We are ever changing the trajectories of our youth. Just imagine what is ahead!

We remain ever grateful for the collective efforts to impact one million lives by 2020. Together, we will transform opportunities for the youth of East Africa.

But today, together, we pause. We see each other. We see the power and gifts within us and say: thank you.

A very Happy Thanksgiving!

Carolyne’s Road to Success

Carolyne Sunte, mentor, daughter, aspiring journalist and leader, is one of Asante Africa Foundation’s passionate advocates for making a change in her community of Maasai, Africa. Carolyne motivates us with her dedication to her work as a program coordinator and mentor. With today’s post we wanted to give you a glimpse into who Carolyne is and what motivates her. We hope you are just as inspired and excited by what she has to say as we are!

“When you educate a girl, you have educated the whole community.”

Carolyne knows first hand the value of an educated woman. Afterall, she is one, and has seen the impact of her own growth on her community’s.

When we asked Carolyne why she wanted to be a mentor, she had to speak first about the struggles she and countless other women face by being marginalized in society. Growing up in the male-dominated society of Maasai, Africa, as a woman, Carolyne was not expected to continue her education. She was not expected or encouraged to take on a leadership role. She was not encouraged to pursue her dreams, or even to have dreams at all. It was a constant struggle to find her place.

But it was Carolyne’s ability and willingness, “two necessary traits”, that fueled her desire to make a change. She says, “I had a strong will that one day I would change the trend in the male dominant society”. In fact, Carolyne was the first educated girl ever in her family lineage, an achievement that she does not take lightly.

“[The Asante Africa Foundation] made me realize my dream and helped me to see the leadership qualities in myself.”

After O level studies, Carolyne was not able to pursue higher education due to lack of finances. That’s when she volunteered with Asante Africa Foundation. This allowed her to pursue her education, and by doing this she was already taking the first step to changing the male-dominated trend in her community. She later got involved as the Girls Program Coordinator. Through Asante Africa’s Girls Advancement Program, Carolyne learned social, financial and life skills that gave her the confidence to pursue leadership roles in her school and her community. Her passions for journalism and entrepreneurship were ignited. Finally, she was beginning to gain the confidence to build her dream, and gaining the skills to achieve it.

                                              Carolyne with Asante Africa Foundation team

Carolyne also attended Asante Africa’s LEI program. She says, “Life changed for me and my siblings after I attended the LEI program. I began to put the skills I learnt into practice. I began an orange plantation and started coaching young and old people about entrepreneurship. That instilled the feeling of being a mentor in me.”

 

                                                                                       Orange Plantation

 

                                  Coaching the elder men and women of her community

“My mother was the best mentor during my childhood life, she was the kind of a woman who would want us to be leaders and to give back to the community.”

Carolyne also has an important woman to thank for inspiring her desire and ability to succeed: her mother. Having a strong, female figure in her life no doubt is an example of the importance of women teaching and leading other women in their community. Carolyne had a strong desire to mentor others who were struggling with the same issues she was; to provide the same support and encouragement her mother gave her. She says, “I believe it’s important to communicate what you know. To provide useful, honest guidance while ensuring that you give best solutions to different individual needs, capacities and opportunities.” These are the marks of being a great mentor.

“I love giving back to the community and country at large. What I admire most is creating a system approach that everyone believes in.”

As a mentor, Carolyne sees the necessity of her work, and finds joy in changing the lives of young people who look up to her with admiration. Creating a “system approach” means engaging the locals in her community. Not only educating girls and women, but also engaging boys and men as allies to the cause as well. As Carolyne says, “change begins gradually and attained in small degrees” but taking the first step is the most important.

“Being a mentor also means you should continue learning about what’s going on in current trends, country economy, the school, the community, or the world at large.”

Carolyne is a continuous and avid learner. Her learning did not end after graduation — it became a part of her everyday life as a mentor as well. Carolyne does all she can to make sure she doesn’t remain stagnant in her knowledge of the world and it’s ever-changing technology, society, and economy. She believes that having an education should impact every part of her life and her future as well.

“Educate the next generation of change agents whose dreams and actions will transform the future of Africa and the world.”

So, what can we do to encourage our young women to be leaders in their communities? For Carolyne, it’s as simple as one word, and it comes as no surprise: education. We must continue to educate our young women to set sustainable goals, and Carolyne particularly mentions goals that will provide economic empowerment, such as creating financial freedom. Our young women can and will be the change agents in their society.

 

Finally, we asked Carolyne for some advice she could give to young girls who want to be leaders in their community. She left us with this: “The change we want to see today begins with you being the change. Nothing is impossible … when you educate a girl, you have educated the whole community.”

Thank you, Carolyne, for sharing some of your unique experiences with us as a mentor and as an Asante Africa Foundation advocate. We are also so thankful for the work you do in your community and beyond!

We thank everyone who has helped us make dreams come true for many students like Carolyne. To know more on how you can support click here.

 

Interview with Charles Wahome

Veterans Day in America is always a good time to remember the sacrifices our servicemen and servicewomen do for country. It’s not an easy profession, and it certainly demands a lot from the men and women that are called to do it. We share this short interview with Charles Wahome, an AAF alumnus that has gone on to join the military in his own country of Kenya, and dedicate it to all the vets out there on this special day.

AAF: Charles is part of a brood of 4, with only 2 of those siblings educated. When did Asante Africa Foundation first come into the picture?

Charles: I got to know Asante Africa back in the year 2007 while I was in secondary school. My head teacher made the introduction because I was unable to pay my school fees anymore.

AAF: We know, of course, that training for the military is tough and that it requires physical strength and mental abilities. What made you decide to pursue it?

Charles: The main reason that motivated me to join the military police is that I didn’t have much options open to me. I wanted to move forward with my life, and I wanted to make money in order to continue getting educated. This is what I tried to do to take me were I wanted to be.

AAF: What have you learned from being an Asante Africa Alumnus that helped you cope with the challenges of military training?

Charles: The Leadership & Entrepreneurship Incubator Program teaches you skills that are useful outside the classroom. Dream-mapping is very relevant because it has helped me, and those around me, to have more hope in our lives. It also helps us to work at realizing and making those dreams come true.

AAF: What’s next for you?

Charles: My future plans include continuing my studies so that I can secure my future and help improve lives in the community where I live. Right now I’m completing my first diploma in criminology and forensic science, but I want to continue learning more so I can work with other institutions apart from the military.

AAF: What has Asante Africa Foundation done to help you achieve your dreams?

Charles: Asante Africa Foundation had many roles in shaping my career. I wouldn’t have made it through secondary level education if they hadn’t paid for my school fees. And I have grown a lot from the internship, pay it forward programs, seminars, and regular visits that really help me.

This holiday season give the gift of education to students who are waiting to go back to school. Click to know more.

Empowering through Education:Day of the Girl Child!

Five years ago, the United Nations designated October 11 as International Day of the Girl Child as part of their campaign to highlight the discrimination that girls around the world face every day. I grew up in Zimbabwe in the 1990’s and the first decade of the 2000’s, in a country that had after independence from white settler rule declared that education for all children – boys and girls – should be free. But as Zimbabwe faced economic decline, social services were cut, including the opportunity for free education at government schools.

I was one of the lucky few, part of a privileged elite. An only child, my parents prioritized my education above all else, sending me to one of the best private all-girls school in the country for my high school education, despite the massive increase in tuition fees that occurred almost monthly due to hyperinflation. As the country struggled to maintain its infrastructure, I would often study by candlelight on nights of prolonged power cuts. In my last year at school, supermarkets were often full of empty shelves, and my parents had to resort to the black market for imported food supplies from other countries.

And yet, these were minuscule challenges compared to what the rest of the country faced in those years, and still does. Across the country, and the continent, girls are often not given the choice to go to school because of parents forced to make an economic choice between educating their son or their daughter. When they do have the opportunity for an education, they lack access to basic resources that we here in the United States take for granted – books, stationary, new clothes, tampons.

While researching schools in the rural areas for my dissertation in journalism at Columbia University in 2013, I talked to girls who had to walk for several hours to get to the nearest school. When they did get home, they were exhausted, and had no time to read for pleasure or even do their homework because of the chores they had to do in order to help their parents. When girls do complete their education, they often lack the funds to make it to university, or find a skilled, paying job. They face domestic and sexual violence, discrimination in the workplace and legal systems, lack of governmental representation, access to basic resources, and violation of their human rights. Even when educated, they are not always empowered.

International Day of the Girl Child highlights all these issues, and brings the world’s attention to them. It strives to ensure that girls can grow in a safe and healthy environment into young women, with all the opportunities I was so fortunate to have both in the past and now. Today is a day to recognize strides that have been made towards gender equality in Africa and across the world, and to call for more to be done.

So how can we help with these efforts? We can volunteer and help out with non-profit organizations such as Asante Africa Foundation. We can sponsor a girl’s school fees for a year what we’d pay for our cell phone bill in a month. We can work with governments, we can become teachers, we can write and talk about all the challenges that girls face to raise awareness. We can try and figure out what the underlying problems challenging girls’ education are, rather than simply donating money that often doesn’t go to the right places. We can listen to girls and women, and make their voices heard. We can challenge the status quo that sees girls’ education as less important. We can help women to be both mothers and workers, daughters and students.

We don’t have to check our privilege – we can use it.                                                                                                                                                                                         – Trishula Patel

Trishula Patel is currently a PhD student at Georgetown University, focusing on African history. She has a B.A. and M.A. in history from the University of Pennsylvania, and an M.S. in journalism from Columbia University. She has written articles for The Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Weekly, PassBlue.