SAME BLOG: NEW ADDRESS

IN ORDER TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR READERS AND FOLLOWERS TO ACCESS SPECIFIC BLOGS ON TOPICS AND PROGRAMS OF INTEREST, WE HAVE RELOCATED OUR BLOG TO THE FOLLOWING ADDRESS:

EDPOWERMENTTZ.COM

PLEASE MAKE NOTE OF THIS CHANGE FOR THE FUTURE AND THANK YOU FOR FOLLOWING OUR STORIES AND SUPPORTING THOSE WHOM WE SERVE.

MARY, ONE OF OUR FORM 5 STUDENTS, TALKS TO OUR OWN AND OTHER LOCAL FORM 4 GRADUATES ABOUT SUCCEEDING IN HIGHER LEVEL EDUCATION

Transatlantic Give Back

What feeling is better than knowing you’ve helped another human being? 

For many years our sponsored students, by necessity, are on the receiving side of help.  With age and maturity, however, they too can become givers.  With this in mind, part of our THRIVE program for Form 4 and Form 6 graduates aims to (1) make these young adults aware of the needs of their neighbors and (2) encourage the teens to find ways to alleviate these situations.

Add to the above scenario YAHOO day (the yodel, not the website). What’s YAHOO day? And what’s the connection?  After beating cancer, a friend of Cocoa McGovern, one of our Directors, designated February 26, the day he beat cancer, as YAHOO day to celebrate those who helped save his life by paying their kindness forward.  He gave Cocoa $100 and told her to find a way to celebrate YAHOO day in TZ. 

Cocoa decided to give the monies to our Form 4 graduates to help others in their community.  Supervised by Tom Kway, the girls first visited the Ward Executive Officer to locate needy families.  The WEO and some other community members took each girl to 2 families.  The girls met with the families and saw their circumstances. The girls then collaborated on how to help. 

Some of what they have started to do includes:

• Helping a paralyzed woman and another elderly woman by bringing them a new mattress, blankets and kanjis
• Helping a handicapped man by buying seed for his field and then helping him to prepare and plant the fields
• Helping a blind woman with some new pots and buckets for her family to help her get water and cook.

This is just the beginning as our young women figure out how to continue their new relationships.  In the meantime they are learning how to become a support and lifeline for others – perhaps the best path to real empowerment.

 

BRINGING LEARNING ALIVE FOR TANZANIAN TEENS

THIS SHORT VIDEO GIVES YOU A TASTE OF HOW  EMPOWERMENT IS APPLYING HANDS-ON TEACHING PRACTICES TO CREATE REAL LEARNING AT THE CENTRE WE SUPPORT.  WE ARE USING THIS VIDEO TO PROMOTE OUR CENTRE AMONG THE LOCALS, AND WE ARE HAPPY TO SHARE IT WITH YOU.  

OUR METHODS ARE INSPIRING AND MOTIVATING IN AN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM DOMINATED BY ROTE LEARNING AND "CHALK TALK." TOO OFTEN, THE TECHNIQUES AND TECHNOLOGY USED AT THE KILIMAHEWA CENTRE ONLY CAN BE FOUND IN WELL-FUNDED OR EXCLUSIVE PRIVATE SCHOOLS.  WE ARE BRINGING THESE METHODS TO THE VILLAGE POOR.  

WE WELCOME ANYONE WHO WANTS TO VISIT AND LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR WORK:

BOTH STUDENTS AND FUNDERS

TECHNOLOGY + MOTIVATED INSTRUCTION = CLASSROOM EXCITEMENT AT KILIMAHEWA

It’s the next step in computer education at the community-based Kilimahewa Center – and it’s demonstrating how technology can excite and facilitate learning in the right circumstances. 

Frank, the new computer administrator at Kilimahewa, just set up a router and internet stick to work with a set of Toshiba laptops recently acquired by the Centre.  Next, he created an online test of the computer skills covered in the first 4 weeks of his course:

·      the parts of the computer

·      the difference between hardware and software

·      the location of commands.

The process allowed students to take the test on their computers, submit their responses, and receive immediate grading.  What a success it was for the students not only to receive quick feedback, but also to participate firsthand in the wonders of technology.

Mavis Beacon is also a part of this technology blitz.  Her software may be old school in the U.S., but it’s the vehicle for these students to use the keyboard properly– TOUCH TYPING, NO ONE FINGER TYPING.  Right now, most students type at 9 WPM with 90% accuracy. The goal -  to reach 25 WPM by April 3.

EdPowerment is bringing a new level of learning to the villages it serves in Tanzania through thoughtful planning, a motivated staff, tools of today’s technology, and respect for its learners.

The Pursuit of Happiness = The Pursuit of a Job

EdPowerment’s family of students is getting older.  This year 4 young women graduated from Secondary “O” level schools and are now waiting National Form Four results that determine their future range of possibilities.  Next year, 8 more young men and women will graduate from “O” level secondary schools.

We hope most of our students score well enough on their National Form 4 exams to continue to Form 5&6 high school and then on to University.  Not all, however, will follow this path – and not all should.  For some, certificate and other programs may be better choices because the goal is ... A JOB.  And according to one set of recent statistics, only 40,000 of Tanzania’s 700,000 university graduates last year got a job!

So we need to prepare our students, not just to pass in the classroom, but to find jobs.  These are not youth with connections or money.  They are going to have to be creative, persistent, and even aggressive in seeking employment.  They will have to learn to use the Internet, to interview effectively, to dress properly, to be conversant in English, maybe even to go door-to-door.

To help our students navigate this set of challenges, we are piloting a program called THRIVE – one more element of sponsorships committed to preparing our students for life - not just for school.  

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THRIVE is a work-study program intended to develop each post-secondary student’s ability to function independently.  Program components include:

• ·      Guidance on educational alternatives suited to each student’s abilities and skill set.
• ·      Life skills, health education, career counseling and other workshops
• ·      Meetings with professionals to learn about and discuss employment opportunities and expectations
• ·      Current event assignments that require the reading of newspapers and online reports.
• ·      Computer and Internet training.
• ·      Other reading (use of library) and “short courses” appropriate to the student.
• ·      Community work assignments at the Kilimahewa Educational Centre and other venues.
• ·      Research and other assignments on topics such as the cost of living and strategies for saving and budgeting.

THRIVE activities will take place during all post-secondary breaks as students advance through higher education studies until graduation/completion of the sponsorship program. Participation is a requirement for students to remain in our Tomorrow's Scholar-Leader sponsorship program.