Africa Education Initiative (AEI)
Video Script: “Increasing Access/Improving Quality"
AUDIO – Drum Solo – UP and UNDER (Chris Williams – These Days) Approx. 1:23
DR. CINDY COURVILLE: “Africa is at an unprecedented point in its history…there are more democracies right now in sub-Saharan Africa than any other developing area in the world – you see a continent of promise and hope – That doesn’t mean there aren’t challenges on the continent, poverty most certainly is one, HIV/AIDS, malaria…those are challenges but governments for the first time…in the last 10 years are really making an effort to work to provide for the needs of their people...”
NARRATOR: Many agree that the common denominator that will help the people of Africa realize the continents great promise and opportunity is EDUCATION….
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OPENING SEQUENCE
AUDIO – MUSIC UP
{Without silence words lose their meaning / Without listening speaking cannot heal / Without reaching out towards one another / We’ll lose ourselves in what only we think we feel /Chorus / Step inside my heart but walk gently / I know you’ve come a long way / Step inside my heart cause we need to be together / If we’re going to make it through these days / - Chris Williams – These Days}
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“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”
Nelson Mandela
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AFRICA
EDUCATION
INITIATIVE
“Increasing Access/Improving Quality”
MUSIC DOWN – (Drums solo) – UNDER [TITLE FADES TO BLACK] replaced by graphic -“HOPE”
STUDENT #1: “To me education is life –no life without education - that is my motto and that is what I believe ”…
STUDENT #2: “I believe that everything that is worth having is worth working hard for – if we work hard we can achieve whatever we want in life”
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DREAMS
STUDENT #1(ESTHER GOHOLE): “…my favorite subject is math…//…I want to be a pilot when I grow up…”
STUDENT #2 (HAWA HUSSEIN) …my favorite subject is biology…I would like to be a medical doctor…
STUDENT #3 (PHALES MALISOPE) : “A subject that I like so much is science because when I finish school I want to be a scientist…”
DR. SARAH WRIGHT – CHIEF EDUCATION OFFICER, USAID, KENYA: Education is a key element in long term sustainable development…if children particularly the girl child is educated, she is more likely to send her children to school, they are more likely to be healthy, they are more likely to be more productive citizens as a result of the influence of their educated mother.
NARRATOR: EDUCATION…quality education…equality in education for girls, orphans and vulnerable children….more education resources…an increase in the quality and quantity of educators…and the involvement of parents and communities in the educational process.
These goals are the main focus of the Africa Education Initiative, a $600 million dollar multi-year initiative to increase access to basic education in 40 African countries through scholarships, textbooks and teacher training……….
DR. CINDY COURVILLE: Education is absolutely critical and when you talk about information being power and the ticket to a real future…to have bright, smart young women...is a major investment in the future of the continent…but when you look at from both the times with President Clinton and now with President Bush who doubled the AEI funding, the US has said we believe in this promise and opportunity for the continent but these young women will open the doors…
DR SARAH MOTEN : We wanted to not level the playing field but at least make girls feel that they had an opportunity and to provide them with access...so in order to provide the access we looked at well how do we do that? We’ll have to fund this through scholarships to get girls in school.
AMBASSADORS GIRLS SCHOLARHIP PROGRAM
Three US based non-government organizations are collaborating with USAID and over 100 local NGO’s to administer the Ambassadors Girls Scholarship Program.
JUDY BENJAMIN – PROJECT DIRECTOR, AGSP, AED: basically the way it works is we have a contract with USAID to implement the program in 15 countries…the funds are funneled through the contractors to local implementing partners.//
DR. SARAH WRIGHT: These organizations are quite familiar with the geography, socio-cultural context and the day to day life of the average girl in Kenya.….
SAHARA HASSAN AHMED – KEPAWAE NEP REPRESENTATIVE: In our province normally priority are given to boys – very few girls in our province who have gone to education and who have got this priority…And especially this time when we’ve got drought, poverty, tribal clashes – we’ve got a lot of orphans. The little the parent has is given to the boy child – So I do feel this sponsor has really helped our girls.…my role, it’s me who is handling on the ground here…we have given them school fees, we’ve given them school uniform, 2 pairs, they’re given bags to carry their books, they’re also given classroom materials, money is also given for their tuition, exam fees are also paid for them.
JUDY BENJAMIN: Without our local partners we would not be able to implement this program – they are absolutely key and essential…and it falls to them to identify the scholarship recipients – we have a very well defined selection process…we want to make sure that the Ambassadors Girl Scholarship Program is selecting the most needy girls who are likely to succeed in the program. Many of them are orphans because of HIV/AIDS – the boys in the family might be going to school but the girls are not…Choosing the right girl for the scholarship is one of our biggest challenges…the need is huge in all the areas we work…we deliberately are working in the very poorest neighborhoods .
KIBERA
JAMES OTIENO - DEP. HEAD-TEACHER, OLYMPIC PRIMARY SCHOOL: Kibera is a big slum and most children here are very needy. Here the teachers are trying their best to make a child come from the slum and at least be somebody who can also help in the society…So education is very vital especially to this community…it’s the only thing that can get them out of the poverty… USAID and KEPAWE has come to rescue our children in this school because these children now have been given hope in life…
NARRATOR: The Maasai Education Discovery is another implementing partner working on the ground with girls from Maasai land…
NAROK
LEDAMA OLEKINA - PRESIDENT, MAASAI EDUCATION DISCOVERY: Our work is really to be out in the field – they provide us with the funds and we implement the program…to help improve the community and particularly to help the young girls who undergo tremendous obstacles – like female circumcision, maybe early teenage pregnancy…I believe our future depends on women and I’m really impressed because the young girls that we’re supporting and working with have highly committed to bring change into their community…
MARIA LETURA – 7th GRADE STUDENT, MODEL PRIMARY SCHOOL, NAROK I would like to be a lawyer and I would like to fight for women’s rights including the Maasai – who are very mitreated and discriminated…
LEDAMA OLEKINA: USAID has been a tremendous boost because all these girls need tuition, books, fees, transportation…In line with that we have a mentoring program which is geared toward empowering young girls …
JUDY BENJAMIN: Mentoring is important because we know that the girls come from families where it’s maybe not conducive for studying…They might not have the money to buy fuel for their lamps so they can study at night…and by and large, these girls from the poor families go home and a whole other day of work faces them. So that it really is important that we support them. The mentors can get to know the girls, they know a little bit about their home situation.
SAHARA HASSAN AHMED: I do mentor them, I come visit them, I advise them, I tell the importance of education, I tell them the importance of discipline… +
JACKLYNE KYALO: Why I became a mentor – is because I never had somebody to mentor me – so I want to prove that the girls can make it and I want to talk to them, I want to mentor them, I want to make sure that because they have an opportunity they can be able to make it in life…
FAITH ADHIAMBO: The mentors always help us, they advise me not to do what is wrong but always stand on my right
ESTHER GOHOLE: Despite the fact that I am living in Kibera, I don’t care about the environment but I just want to make my future be successful…
NARRATOR: Two-thirds of all adults and children with HIV live in sub-Saharan Africa. The epidemic of HIV/AIDS has had a devastating impact on education all across the continent….It is contributing to a shortage of qualified teachers due to illness or death…many pupils have been orphaned by the disease, some live with sick parents and relatives or have the illness themselves – causing them to miss or give-up on school…In several countries where AEI and the Ambassadors Girls Scholarship Program are active, children orphaned by HIV/AIDS are target beneficiaries and many of the scholarship and teacher training programs, as well as new textbooks being developed, include HIV/AIDS prevention and life skills curricula…
This is a primary focus of the AEI program in Zambia –
RICK HENNING - CHIEF EDUCATION OFFICER, USAID, ZAMBIA: 16% of the population is impacted by AIDS and 1 in 6 people have AIDS…It’s in our daily lives – every family has been affected. All the children are influenced by it…if their parents are sick – we have a large population of orphans now – who are either single or double orphans – where they’ve lost one parent or both that look at the school as a resource for them…as a place to go that they’ll be accepted and helped…and our role in there is to provide not only the funding but help in planning and guidance and interaction with the Ministry of Education.
ED GRAYBILL – CHIEF OF PARTY, CHANGES 2 PROJECT, ZAMBIA: CHANGES is an acronym that means Community Supporting Health,, HIV/AIDS Nutrition Gender Equity and Education in Schools – In CHANGES 2 with AEI funding as well as PEPFAR funding, there’s always been a focus on HIV/AIDS prevention so that a lot of the kids who have received the scholarships are trained as HIV/AIDS peer educators in their schools and in their communities where they’re doing outreach activities to try to prevent the impact of HIV/AIDS…
DOROTHY CHILOMBO KASANDA – PROGRAMME MANAGER, FAWEZA: We realize that a lot of the girls that are on scholarships are orphans and they lack guidance and support…so when they can interact with peers, where they can, you know, just have the support to deal with some of the issues that they face…We believe that has helped a lot in the completion rates….The Student Alliance fir Female Education – SAFE clubs – are the clubs that look after life skills and mentor, peer education, positive gender relations among girls and boys…
SAFE Clubs….GIRLS – NOMSA: Now we believe that girls are the people who are more vulnerable in the society and we believe that if a girl child is not highly esteemed, a girl child can never go anywhere…
MISOZI: I had a very low self-esteem but because of the exposure I got from SAFE Club, I am able to stand in front of thousands of people and talk proudly…
NOMSA: It’s so surprising that we’re finding guys in here , but I can assure you that the guys that you are seeing in here, are the people we believe are backing us. They believe even girls can do something in the society. And that’s how come they joined us, because they want to back us up as their sisters. We believe they are the best and we call them our brothers.
JELA MTONGA: We try to look at the root instead of the leaves. If we chop off the leaves and say, “don’t have sex, abstain,” the tree will still grow more leaves, see? So SAFE, what it is doing right now even for me, is chopping off the roots of certain bad attitudes that will lead to other bad things.
MAYASE MSHANGA: And the whole SAFE club, guys/girls thingy, we get to interact, we get to talk, socialize and everything. We get more assertive, I think, Because, you know, you get used to guys and stuff, so if you want to say no, you say no, without being shy and that losing their confidence stuff.
TEXTBOOK AND LEARNING MATERIALS PROGRAM
NARRATOR: With thousands of scholarships being awarded across Africa, the quality of the education these girls receive is another factor of the Africa Education Initiative. To expand and improve the quality and quantity of materials available to these scholarship recipients as well as all students in schools throughout sub-Saharan Africa, a Textbooks and Learning Materials Program was developed as a component of AEI.
DR. CINDY COURVILLE: I can’t imagine a world without books, and to open these young minds and all of the world that opens up to you when you open that book. That young girl takes the book home with her, shares it with the parents, shares it with the grandparents, to be able to take information from that way this child becomes a fundamental instrument in changing that family’s life.
SADIO GUEYE – STUDENT, KHAR YALLA PRIMARY: Being educated you can become anything you want to be – to have my own book at home will compliment my studying – what I don’t learn at school I can learn at home.
IBRAHIMA GUEYE (FATHER): Knowledge is power…Learning in school is good but if she can learn at home in her spare time, reading on her own and sharing with her sisters and brothers – that is the best…
DR. SARAH MOTEN: In many of the African countries children have to share textbooks and we saw that we could make a difference by helping the educational institutions in Africa to partner with minority serving institutions in the U.S. to write, to publish and distribute textbooks and other learning materials for children, so that eventually every African child would have at least one book that they could call their own.
PAPE SOW - CHIEF EDUCATION OFFICER, USAID, SENEGAL: Through the textbooks, the main challenge we have is just to create a very conducive environment for this learning. We have the lack of textbooks for instance in science and math, meaning that most of the kids, the only opportunity they are given just to read or to practice is just the blackboard where the teacher is just writing. So the program we have is very highly appreciated by the ministry, by the community and by the learners.
AMADOU LAMINE BA – SENEGAL AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: Today in Senegal the government is investing 40% of it’s budget on education. Your program fit very well into our program because it is a bold initiative is based on giving, especially the tools. Already this program is funding textbooks in Senegal. What I like about it is just a collaborative effort, and the teachers are going to use it.
NARRATOR: Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina is one of several U.S. Minority Serving Institutions partnering with African institutions and Ministries of Education to develop and publish textbooks and learning materials. Senegal is their partner country.
DR. WILLY GILCHREST – CHANCELLOR, ECSU: We are very committed to the process we are in, in terms of the materials and the textbooks we are producing here at the university as we work in partnership with Senegal, we’re just proud to be providing that million textbooks that would help those youngsters to do better work.
DR. JOHNNY HOUSTON – ECSU TLMP PROGRAM DIRECTOR: The initial idea was a brainchild of Dr. Sarah Moten at USAID and one of her colleagues. And they said we want to do it with Minority Institutions and African Universities. And the idea was to work with professionals in sub-Saharan countries and provide certain education needs, and that was the beginning of a cooperative partnership in which there was this mutual respect, there was this mutual effort of teamwork, there was this high commitment to excellence.
DR. MARGERY COULSON-CLARK – ECSU TLMP ASST. DIRECTOR: When it comes to the actual work getting done we try to do as much collaboratively and we really rely on our Senegalese partner to direct us in what they need, what they want this is a collaboration second to none.
ABDOU MATY SENE: My job here is to help my colleagues develop the books first in English according to Senegal values, culture, and their curriculum and with a gender approach and age and after that I I need to translate them in French.
SAMBA FALL – COORDINATOR, SENEGAL TECHNICAL TEAM: This is the first time in Senegal a textbook has gone through a 3 year review process and a textbook like this has been published in Senegal. The new textbooks can be used by students without input from the teachers. Also the pictures and literature balance and facilitate reading and understanding by students.
ANNA MENDY – MOTHER OF KHAR YALLA PRIMARY STUDENT: She is so happy with the book, it’s so informative with a great variety of information.
JOHNNY HOUSTON: The nice thing about this project was that it permitted us to print the books in Senegal. That means the Senegalese would have an impact and an infusion in their economic structure, and their own scholars were able to participate in the development of those books.
NARRATOR: Many of the Learning Materials are not only for students but also for teachers…playing a vital role in their training and ultimately enhancing the quality of education …
TEACHER TRAINING
DR. CINDY COURVILLE: You have to have an individual with skills to help shape these young minds, and so to invest in Africa’s future means to invest in teachers.
DR. SARAH MOTEN: The goal is to provide the opportunity to get well trained teachers, administrators, inspectors through in service or pre-service training, and also to provide the resources.
NARRATOR: …From pre-school to high school, training teachers is another major priority of the Africa Education Initiative…Outside the seaside city of Mombasa, Kenya the idea of early childhood education blossoms in the Muslim community.
AEI funding helps strengthen and expand Early Childhood Development programs that the Madrasa Resource Center is implementing in Muslim communities in Kenya. MRC is partnering with USAID’s, Education for Marginalized Children in Kenya, EMACK…
ZENAB YUSUF - MADRASA HEADTEACHER: In the beginning I found teaching was very hard. I didn’t know where to begin, but now after getting the skills from MRC and come back here and use whatever I got there and reading books, now I can see that teaching is very easy.
NAJMA RASHID - MRC DIRECTOR, KENYA: All the refresher courses that these teachers have had is through funding from EMACK, which means these are teachers who have graduated but we see its important for them to sustain learning.
ZENAB YUSUF: I enjoy teaching the children and also through teaching here and going to the training I have learned a lot.
NARRATOR: AEI not only provides funds and support for teacher training at the community school level but it also impacts Ministries of Education, teacher training institutions, principals and head teachers as well as practicing classroom teachers.
ED GRAYBILL – CHANGES 2: We’re basically trying to get teachers to focus on learner needs and issues rather than what they have in their textbooks
ANNETTE IMASIKWANA – TEACHER, SHUNGU BASIC SCHOOL: I chose to be a teacher because I love children…yeah…I love children and I want a better future for them…the teacher group meetings are very important – they help us to develop – we also share ideas, we bring up new methods of how we should teach in class.
BRENDA MUKONKA KWALOMBOTA – TEACHER, SHUNGU B S: Teacher group meetings are so good…they’re so important…because when we meet in our groups we share ideas, where you don’t understand you are able to ask your friends… I opted to be a teacher because one, I liked being with the children, I love them and two, I got encouraged the way my teachers used to teach me when I was still at school, so I thought maybe I can also stand in front of pupils, teach them maybe even them, they will have interest in teaching in future.
NARRATOR: In Senegal, West Africa, newly constructed middle schools, where none existed before, have become the centerpieces of their communities.
LARRAINE DENAKPO – USAID/PAEM: So once we got the schools in place and the buildings there, then our big focus became teacher training, training the principals.
SISSAS SANE – PRINCIPAL, BASSOUL MIDDLE SCHOOL: I am very happy to be the principal of this new school…I have new buildings with fencing and new equipment…As a principal, I have been trained through seminars on how to lead and train my staff, and manage both staff and facilities. I have also learned about communicating better with the community, my staff and pupils.
IBRAHIMA BARRO – TEACHER, BASSOUL MIDDLE SCHOOL: Through the seminars, my skills as a teacher have developed, as they helped us to focus on how to motivate the children so they take interest in what you’re teaching.
FATOU SARR – 8th GRADE STUDENT: The teachers contribute to my interest because they encourage us to interact and take part in the class. I want to become an English teacher. When I become a teacher I will do the same.
OUMY FADLLY NDIAYE – TRAINING INSTRUCTOR: I am an English teacher – I was in the classroom but now I am in charge of in-service training. So my job here is to work with teachers. We’re here as facilitators to bring information and to reinforce what they have got – because they are already in the classrooms – they have got some experience. This is important because here in Senegal we have problems with new teachers. This past year they were not trained, they go directly in the classrooms – and as you know teaching is not something easy – you have to be trained. So we help them be confident in themselves before going in the classrooms, we give them something they can immediately practice in their classrooms with their students.
GMLANE NDIAYE – TEACHER, TRAINEE: My first training was on motivation… they taught us how to motivate our children by defining their interests and catering to their needs. Currently we are learning how to plan before classes, how to manage the lesson in the classroom…and then evaluate after we teach…I want to implement these strategies and focus on the pupil who is at the heart of the matter …As a teacher and woman – I am happy to teach and share knowledge…it’s also a matter of educating our children who are our brothers and sisters, our son and daughters – sparing no effort to integrate them into society so they’ll be in harmony with society…
NARRATOR: And that’s what the Africa Education Initiative is all about…giving every child in Africa, girl or boy, the opportunity to contribute in a meaningful way to their societies…whether it’s in their communities…in their villages…on a national level or even internationally…
JUDY BENJAMIN: We see the need is so great, we think: is it going to make a difference? And I always say: anytime you get a girl educated…the community is better off, her future children will be healthier, she will have an opportunity to go out and make something of herself. I think it is making a huge difference.
LEDAMA OLEKINA: We are all committed, not because we have to do it, not because it’s a job, but because it’s something that must be done to be able to guarantee the future of our people.
DR. CINDY COURVILLE: To invest in teachers and scholarships and the books, it completes the circle, so absolutely all three are critical. The Africa Education Initiative is one that every American can see how their resources and money is having a direct impact on the life of a child, the life of a family, and life of a community – so this is a gift from the American people to Africa.
MAYESE MSHANGA – HILLCREST SECONDARY SCHOOL - SAFE STUDENT: I want to say thank you very, very much, from the bottom of our hearts. And on behalf of the other scholars thank you very much because you don’t know what you’ve done – that’s the thing – you don’t know what you’ve done…this is changing our lives… at least we get to know that people out there care about us and we want to work hard – it pushes us to work harder…and one thing we know we’re going to make it, we can make it… in future we also hope as we’re being helped we also hope to be successful and help others eventually in the future…
{DRUMS BEGIN – Chris Williams – “These Days”}
STUDENT #3: “I would like to be an accountant”…
STUDENT #4: “ I want to be a lawyer or a nurse…”
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FATOU SARR – 8th GRADE STUDENT, BASSOUL SECONDARY: If you don’t have education you have no future – you will represent nothing in society…I want to be the first lady to become president of Senegal…
MUSIC UP FULL – “These Days”
{Without solitude community can do nothing / Without knowing ourselves we cannot truly give / Without finding that place so lonely our actions will be as empty as the lives we live / Chorus / Step inside my heart but walk gently / I know you’ve come a long way / Step inside my heart cause we need to be together / If we’re going to make it through these days / - Chris Williams – These Days}
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