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.