Zǎo Maria!

·   Tofauti on the move as per its tradition has to let you in on the firsthand unedited interns' experience with us here in Kenya. This we believe goes a long way into gauging our credibility and also giving future possible interns a sneak preview of what to expect. This time round we take you to the People's Republic of China, as some of you may have realized their rather big invasion to Africa this past summer! We take you specifically to an amazing beautiful be cheerful lady Yingzhu Tao, commonly referred to as 'Maria'. And as her name suggests, from a Christian background, may very well define her graceful warm character. Here is what she said about her experience with us:

   

        Kindly give us a brief bio of yourself:

My name is Maria Tao, a college student (study at Zhejiang University) from China.  After studying in various fields of Social Sciences for one year,  I was endowed with professional skills like accounting and microeconomics. However, due to my love of meeting new people and the great passion for diverse culture and life, I decided to come here and have a totally new experience. What’s more, helping people in need makes me glad and proud.

·         What were your expectations of the Tofauti Internship Experience? Have you met them?

Teaching kids or children in a slum, subjects including Mathematics, English, Arts and Chinese; meeting different interns from all over the world, and working, discussing issues and sharing experiences together; subsidizing students by practical things like books and stationary; communicating with local NGOs; culture-sharing with interns like Cultural Village; enjoying and savoring tasty local food and fruits.

Apart from the NGO part, I have already met all of them. They indeed exerted  a great influence on me.

·         What did you get from the Tofauti Internship Experience? What value did we add to your life?

First, I got the rich experiences like teaching adorable kids in slum, meeting new people, adapting exotic lifestyle, attending international conference, visiting amazing places, dealing with all manner of cases and many more. Second, I was really impressed by the kids who were in my work place and learned the spirit of staying optimistic when facing the tough situation. Third, I felt I gradually get to know much more about how to communicate and get along with various people. Last but not least, I gained a group of amazing friends, who are extremely kind and supportive.

·         What other ways could we could have engaged you in the field?

Apart from AIESEC, other NGOs or organizations would be good. Besides, after the intern completing their projects and going back to his/her own country,  they have the power to get more people involved.

·         What can we do to make the Tofauti Internship Experience better?

Before deciding whether one potential intern is accepted to the Tofauti Project or not, you had better balance the number of people from each country and control the diversity; otherwise some problems like accommodation, food or culture shock would arise more or less.

When one intern is accepted, please inform him/her sufficient and necessary info about the projects(My buddy Cyrille did so well that I’m really gratitude for what he has done for me).

When matching, it’s better for the TNM to tell interns the exact school or orphanage they’re about to work in, or at least the students’ basic info (like age) because it would be much better for interns to get sufficient preparation. (Take myself for an example, I planned to bring some books with me but I was not sure about the students’ level thus giving up.) What’s more, if interns are not satisfied with the job, they can communicate with TNM in advance, and it would save time and reduce misunderstandings. Also, it would help avoid the situation that interns has nothing to do when they arrive just because no school fit them well or too many interns work for the same school.

As for the job description, it could be more concrete and specific, not that general.

One more thing is about the period of the project; it required me to stay here for at least 6 weeks, but school closed earlier. Although I really enjoy my stay here but I in the meanwhile maintain that I should be informed when matching or upon arrival.

·   Have your say:  Never too much to experience!

                                                                                                                          

By Maria Yingzhu Tao

TEACH FOR KENYA

Background

Is education knowledge in basic skills, academics, technical, discipline, citizenship, or is it something else? In its focus on good academic performance and putting on notice teachers whose schools are not performing well or whose subjects are not well performed, the Kenyan education system seems to say only academic basics are important and that is based on collecting knowledge without understanding its value. How about the processing of knowledge, using inspiration, visionary ambitions, creativity, risk, ability to bounce back from failure, motivation? Most educational institutions focusing on academic performance do not consider these skills; these skills are associated with understanding the value of knowledge (Mwaka et al, 2010).

Memorization and regurgitation hence become distinctive features of Kenya’s exam-centric education as it demands little creativity of our children and teachers. In a majority of schools, teachers do not focus on teaching and learning, but on jerking up the school mean grade and national ranking.

The schooling process in Kenya therefore seems to be failing in its role of offering education to young people for adequate living in the society. It also fails in its provision of moral and social values leading to a situation of non-education. Bennars (1990) describes the phenomenon of non-education as all forms of association between adults and children which cannot be termed education. It implies the erosion of childhood resulting in the neglect of traditional modes of value inculcation and the actual marginalization of the youth.

Educational Inequity

 

This can be defined as unequal opportunities; that a person’s life achievements should be determined primarily by his or her talents and efforts, rather than by pre-determined circumstances such as race, gender, social or family background. In Kenya, children’s background and environment are also determinants of their performance.  Children born into poverty are half as likely to graduate from high school as their peers in other communities. Even for those who graduate they graduate with less than par level of skills. This inequity of opportunity limits the future of individual students, communities, and our nation as a whole; and in addition to educational crisis we are also faced with identity crisis to tackle.

 

The Statistical Crisis

 

In Kenya, primary education is free but more than one million children are out of school and those in school are not learning. A survey of primary school teachers revealed that some teachers scored 17 per cent in a math test based on the syllabus they teach. For the massive outlay of public resources, 6.7 per cent of GNP, our education accomplishes too little for our children and society.

A survey of primary schools pupils revealed that two out of three pupils in standard three failed a standard two, literacy and numeracy test. Among standard three pupils, only 28 per cent from the poorest households had achieved expected numeracy and literacy, compared to 48 per cent in the richest households

Hence, education is exacerbating rather than ameliorating social inequality in Kenya. Moreover, transition rates are depressing. In 2012, the gross enrollment ratio in secondary school was 48 per cent, woefully low compared to 115 per cent in primary school.

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Policy Issues

 

Summarily, education and training can therefore reduce social and economic disparities. Today, Kenya is characterized by large inequalities with respect to income distribution and this has constrained economic growth. Investment in education and training will be an important strategy to address such differences, which in turn, result in faster economic growth. The involvement in education and training is justified on the basis that human capital investments have large social returns. For the above reasons, the Kenyan Government has, over the years, demonstrated its commitment to the development of education and training through sustained allocation of resources to the sector. However, despite the substantial allocation of resources and notable achievements attained, the sector still faces major challenges related to access, equity, quality,  relevance, efficiency in the management of educational resources, cost and financing of  education, gender and regional disparities, and teacher quality and teacher utilization.

What it Will Take?

EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP

 

Educational leadership enhances learners’ outcomes through creation of an environment where learning permeates the organizational culture. This means that an educational leader is able to promote a shared vision, mobilize people, lead curriculum and pedagogical practice, administrate effectively, and reflect critically on all practice

Our mission is to revolutionize educational reform, by committing dedicated young graduates to a two-year teaching strategy so as to ensure that all children have an opportunity to receive excellent education. Possible??  I believe it is, if we all decide to become our children’s advocates.

BUILDING THE MOVEMENT

 

Filling high-need classrooms with passionate, high-achieving individuals who will do whatever it takes to help their students succeed is a critical piece of our approach—but it’s not enough to reach educational equity. Success relies on the work the ‘Teach for Kenya’ members do as alumni after their two-year commitment, from within the field of education and other sectors, to continue to expand opportunities for all students.

They say to learn is to teach, and by teaching we become part of something bigger than our own selves.

Discover: Burundi men – from poetry to milk yields

Posted on August 27th, 2013 by AFP

Men in Burundi once recited poems to their long-horned cows as they led them to pasture, before civil war decimated the prized stocks. Now the country is rebuilding its herds, but at the cost of forsaking tradition.

Burundi’s whole civilisation was built around cattle. So noble were cows considered that under the monarchy the same word was used for the stomach of the king and the stomach of a cow — quite distinct from the word used for the belly of a mere mortal.

“Before the civil war (of 1993-2006), we had 800,000 head of cattle,” Eliakim Hakizimana, the country’s top official in charge of livestock at the agriculture ministry, recounted. “But the conflict had terrible consequences on cattle, with only around 300,000 left at the end of the war,” he said. After 13 years of fighting and peace bids between the traditional ruling caste in the Tutsi minority and the rebellious Hutu majority, when an estimated 300,000 people lost their lives, Burundi is trying to build up its herds. The Tutsis are mainly herders and held most of the cows whereas the Hutus tend to be farmers. During the war the cows became a prime target for militia fighters, seeking not only food but the destruction of what their foes held most dear. 

“Before colonial times, before the Europeans came at the end of the nineteenth century, the cow was not just a domestic animal in the kingdom of Burundi,” explained Adrien Ntabona, a retired anthropology professor at Burundi University. “People talked to their cows, reeled off their ancestry. They had different poems they recited when they led them to water, to pasture, brought them home or milked them. A cow was seen as a person.” Cows are traditionally given names that describe either their beauty, such as “she who came down from the moon”, or their character. With their long horns and slender forelegs, Burundi’s Ankole cattle were held to be the epitome of beauty. Poets in this small central African nation applied to cattle attributes normally reserved for either women or warriors.

Times of day were expressed in relation to activities concerning cows, with morning known as “grazing time” while early afternoon was “time for the calves to come home”. “When someone wanted a house, a favour or even a wife, he would give a cow,” said Pierre Nduwimana, a peasant farmer in Matana in the country’s south. “A wife was referred to as a two-legged cow who could carry water and cut wood.” “Burundi’s whole civilisation revolved around the cow,” Ntabona said. “Cows served as a link between people. They weren’t treated like goddesses in the way they are in India but they were relatively sacred and had to be treated as such.” 

Long before the civil war erupted, the arrival of colonial forces, a population boom and the shrinking of pastureland in a densely peopled country had all already taken their toll on this traditional way of life, much to the chagrin of some Burundians. “My father had cows, just like my grandfather and my great-grandfather but I can’t afford to keep a herd,” said Pierre, a civil servant. “I feel very guilty about that — as if I’d betrayed my parents.” 

Since the war ended in 2006, when the last major rebel group, the Forces for National Liberation, signed a ceasefire, the cattle population has risen and it is now at 600,000 head, according to official figures. But to acquire a cow today you either need to be rich, as one cow sells for $1,000 (almost 750 euros) — a fortune in one of the world’s poorest countries — or to be a beneficiary of a cattle donation scheme. 

This scheme launched by the authorities has distributed 25,000 cows since 2008, Hakizimana said. The aim is “to modernize the sector to make it productive in milk, cheese and fertilizer,” he added. Emmanuel Nibaruta, a 35-year-old farmer living on one of Burundi’s thousands of hills in the northern Ngozi province, says he is “still thanking God for having given me my first Friesian cow”. While his bulky black and white animal may lack the grace of a traditional Ankole, Nibaruta concedes, it gives him 16 times as much milk every day. But a major problem for the productivity scheme is the absence of outlets where farmers can sell their milk and have it turned into yoghurt and cheese, Hakizimana acknowledged.

Bujumbura’s one and only milk processing plant was shut down 20 years ago at the beginning of the civil war. Milk is sold by cyclists who ride through the streets of the capital. “It’s very demotivating for those of us who produce milk because we end up throwing it away, while cattle feed and veterinary products are so expensive,” lamented Anicet, a civil servant who also owns a farm. Burundi lags well behind the east African region when it comes to milk production, estimated at 71,300 tonnes in 2011. Neighbouring Rwanda produces almost twice as much, and Kenya 30 times as much as Burundi.

“We’re really lagging behind. That’s why we’ve got to move away from the idea of the cow as a prestigious status symbol to the idea of a cow that has to turn a profit,” Hakizimana said.

“We have a long way to go,” he predicted.

Kenya No Wahalla!

Tofauti on the move again would love to share another experience from the eyes of thee Naija queen Ashley the Diva as they used to call her. Personally, I learnt a lot from her(other than her diva swagg and the antenna dance moves) as I always insist Africa is quite diverse.“God don butta my bread” by having her as one of our interns and now my true Oko. Here is what she had to say...

“My experience in Kenya was a beautiful and amazing one; from the very moment I got down from the plane, the hospitality I got was out of this world (I bet she must have been referring this to me kkk). Kenya being the heart of East Africa, I always thought it was overly developed; but then hey!! (ABEG!)It’s still in Africa, and on getting here and realizing that, I felt more at home(:/).

Kenya as we all know means the “Animal Horn”, and with this at the back of my mind I knew I was going to see so many animals. This I did and I’m so happy I got to experience that.

I had a whole list of things I wanted to get done on getting here like people do when they go to a new city, especially one known for its safaris. To me, I would say I met all my expectations and even more.

My project was quite a tough one as I was attached to render services in the Health Sector at the Nairobi Spinal Injury Hospital, as I’m not a medical practitioner. But on getting there I got a very warm embrace with doctors, nurses and even my fellow interns treating me like one of theirs that made working, adapting and even socializing very easy. The Project actually taught me how to be ‘patient’ while dealing with patients and people in general.

Honestly, I don’t like Kenyan food (com on Ash, wetin de problem) , but then when you are in Rome you best act Roman, hence I had to adapt and embrace the foods but I loved ugali, chapatti and of course the tiny beans which Mathew the food engineer was amazing.

All in all, I would say Kenya was really good to me. I met and made some really cool friends, the weather was amazing and I can’t recall having any bad experience. I could write more but I was told to do just one page.

ASANTE SANA KENYA, MIMI ITABIDI DHAHIRI KUWA NYUMA.

Kenya in ME

Eyes on me and the world:

From Wang Yi (Eleven)

【About the Life】

Life in Kenya is a totally different one from us. You can see an extremely new world rolling out nakedly infront of you. The sunshine is naked. The eyesight from pedestrian on you is naked. Tens of thousands possibilities of this country and the breath of development is naked. The poverty, as well, is naked.

In the slums, the so-called houses are made by iron sheet without enough light. All kinds of trash are thrown day after day, making a trash road eventually. Flies are around all the time, especially around those hard and tasteless food.

But this is life.

In Scream Africa, children are mostly saved from streetsI(streetboys). They live in the orphanage together. They go to school every day with their worn-out but clean uniforms, attending classes and doing homework carefully. Their life is a regular one; caring for themselves, longing for more love, never losing hope.

The future exists in someplace...

【About the Happiness】

But they are smiling all the time. Everyday I step into the classroom and greet them all, I will find their happy and lovely face, smiling brightly, naughtily, timidly or loudly. During class time, they all put up their hands actively, hoping for encouragement from teachers. After classes, they play with a poor football or volleyball, satisfied, asking for nothing more.

I asked them, ”Are you happy?”

“Yes, I’m so happy.” They smile and never hesitate to give me the same answer.

That, I strongly believe, is the beautiful simplicity of lifes happiness.

【About the World】

What is the world? How big is the world?

  The life of kids is limited within Nairobi; more so within Utawala, within the demographics between Scream Africa orphanage and Vijito School! Some kids are fortunate enough to once in their lifetime thus far, visit Mombasa. So the sea and beach there becomes their proudest and most precious memory, which they can mention for a thousand of times.

Before I went to Kenya, I had taken many photos of great sceneries and wonders of the world. Although those kids seldom have such opportunities, I know very well that deep in their minds, an outside world firmly stands there, waiting and hoping...

However, after spending six weeks with them, I found out that as a matter of fact, those kids have given me an even bigger world.

You are exactly my world.

【About the future】

How will the future be like? When it comes to us, we may also be confused and not know the answer. We find it difficult to catch up the initial dream while growing up. Or we even dare not to dream under the reality.

But every kid here has a definite dream. I can clearly remember that Anthony wants to be a pilot, Malong wants to be a journalist, Willy wants to be a doctor and my dear Trevor wants to be a tourist. Trevor says he will construct a big airport so I can conveniently travel from China to Kenya every day.

All these are the best dreams I have ever heard of. And those best dreams, must come true, sooner or later.

【About the Love】

Most kids in Vijito don’t have a complete family or worst still don’t have a family at all. Thus they all lack a kind of love that is meant to be given from their dear parents.

When asked who they love most, their answers surprised me a bit. They said, "I don’t love anyone. I express my love to god.” Then I start to understand why they sometimes seem sad and sit beside me saying nothing; why as soon as they get just a little bit hurt, they shout and cry loudly. They want to get your attention, so as in return to get that ounce of precious love from you.

But on the other hand, the love they give me is much more than enough. A picture, a kiss, a hug, a greeting; All the best of love.

【About Kenya】

When we talk about Kenya, what comes to your mind? Sunshine, the beach, nature, black people, poverty or conflicts? Here we see a true Kenya and fall in love with this land unconsciously but deeply.

Six weeks’ voluntary work seems impossible to change these kids’ life. So we shall start doing some fund raising program once we get back to China, for starters. Everytime we do some music and make pics, we can feel that the time in Kenya twinkles so brightly in our life. And once we get post cards or CDs made by ourselves, our hearts come to be full of love and warmth. That makes us believe that we are heading to be a better persons, for a better world.

And Kenya, from then on, will no longer be a simple mark on the map. There are the most beautiful smiles, our best kids and friends, the most unforgettable memories and our best of times.