This week, Equity Group Foundation and The MasterCard Foundation celebrate the 2012 intake of the Wings to Fly Scholars. The Wings to Fly program, created through a partnership between The MasterCard Foundation and Equity Group Foundation, is the largest secondary school scholarship program in Kenya. In this blog, Reeta Roy shares the stories of the scholars she is meeting this week.
David Kariuki is the dynamic Principal of Alliance Boys High School that was founded in 1926 and famed for educating a long line of leaders in Kenya. He beamed as he spoke about the diversity of the student body – 1,200 students from across the country and from all walks of life. Urban and rural boys. Wealthy and economically disadvantaged.
Through the Wings to Fly program, our Foundation and Equity Group Foundation have placed 33 students on a full scholarship at Alliance for their entire high school education. I sat down with these students to listen to their experiences after nearly two years at secondary school.
Most still revel in the fact that they now have the freedom to focus on learning and do not have to worry about school fees, books, pocket money and transportation costs to go home during the holidays – all of this is covered in the comprehensive scholarship package. Mkoji loves math and agriculture. Joseph and John appreciate their mentors.
Daniel and Elijah spoke about their community service – a requirement of every student at Alliance – to mentor younger students at their primary schools in their villages and to encourage them to set their sights on school. Daniel said he had helped mobilize a “scholars union” that involves teachers, parents and community leaders. When I asked for advice on how we could improve the program, they responded, “Let’s spread this “give back” message and community service to other schools so we have a larger impact.” They also asked us to find more resources for other bright, deserving young people who have dreams of going to secondary school but cannot afford it.
After Wednesday of this week, the number of students on our scholarship at Alliance will more than double. As I left Alliance, the boys promised me they would be mentors to the new incoming group of students from similarly humble backgrounds. There was pride in their voices about the opportunity to be of service to their communities.
This week, Equity Group Foundation and The MasterCard Foundation celebrate the 2012 intake of the Wings to Fly Scholars. The Wings to Fly program, created through a partnership between The MasterCard Foundation and Equity Group Foundation, is the largest secondary school scholarship program in Kenya. In this blog, Reeta Roy shares the stories of the scholars she is meeting this week.
Today, I visited Limuru Girls High School in Kenya where I met 31 girls who have earned “Wings to Fly” secondary scholarships. Dressed in their brown uniforms, they smiled shyly as they gathered around me under a tree on the grounds of the school. It was heartening to see their bright faces.
Elizabeth, who is in Form 2, spoke eloquently of her dream to be a neurosurgeon. “I never thought this would be possible coming from a humble background. Now this dream will be realized.”
Others piped up to say they never imagined they would be attending secondary school at all because of their economic circumstances, let alone a national school like Limuru. Diana, a prefect, said, “Knowing that someone is taking care of my schooling expenses only motivates me to study harder.” I was impressed by Christine, also a prefect, who directed her comments to Margaret Khainga, the Principal, “I love you. You are my role model!” She went on to thank her English teacher and Vice Principal for their support.
Later, I was told Christine and Diana were selected to become prefects by teachers based on their performance and leadership potential.
Limuru, founded in 1922, has an impressive graduation rate – close to 100 percent of the girls go on to university. l left with many handwritten letters containing personal words of thanks and dreams about future goals.
While intelligence and leadership potential are distributed across populations rich and poor, equality of opportunity is not. This scholarship program is helping close this divide for all to learn and prosper!
The MasterCard Foundation has partnered with BRAC USA and BRAC Development Institute to test a new model to move people out of extreme poverty. This project is conducted in collaboration with CGAP and Ford Foundation. Michelle Chaplin, Program Manager at BRAC USA, highlights progress and impact of the project in Ethiopia.
In October 2011, Ann Miles (Director of Microfinance at The MasterCard Foundation) and Susan Davis (President and CEO of BRAC USA), visited the Ethiopia CGAP-Ford Foundation Graduation Program in Tigray. This program is a global effort to understand how safety nets, livelihood training and microfinance can be sequenced to create a pathway to help the poorest move, or “graduate,” out of extreme poverty. The CGAP-Ford Foundation Graduation Program is helping to implement ten Graduation Pilots in eight countries, in partnership with local organizations.
The MasterCard Foundation partnered with BRAC USA to support BRAC Development Institute (BDI) in conducting qualitative research on the pilot programs as well as monitoring the implementation of the programs. What effect do the programs have on the lives of the participants? What are the challenges that the participants face? To what extent have their lives improved? In collaboration with CGAP and the Ford Foundation, BDI has conducted qualitative research in Ethiopia, Haiti, India and Pakistan.
Through the qualitative research, we have learned that program participants in the Ethiopia pilot are saving formally for the first time and productive assets given to them from the program are generating income. Participants can now envision coming off the Government of Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Program and graduating into a secure and sustainable livelihood. The Ethiopia qualitative research paper will be published in January 2012 and all other papers can be accessed on the CGAP-Ford Foundation Graduation Programwebsite.
While on their visit in Ethiopia, Ann and Susan attended a workshop that assessed the early successes and challenges of the program in the wider context of programs in Ethiopia that aim to reach the poorest and regions affected by food insecurity. The following short film highlights key takeaways from that workshop. It captures the stories of the participants and insights from facilitators of the Ethiopia pilot program.
Our participation at this year’s Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting, held on September 19 to 22nd, focused on the power of partnerships in addressing urgent issues such as climate change, generating 21st century jobs and creating opportunities for girls and women. We were part of two incredible new commitments with Education for Employment Foundation and Room to Read. We were also thrilled to be part of the opening plenary, where our President and CEO Reeta Roy joined President Bill Clinton, New York Times Columnist Nick Kristof, and philanthropists Ashok and Amrita Mahubani and Milton Ochieng in a conversation about the transformative and inspiring stories of CGI members and their commitments.
Left to right: Milton Ochieng, Reeta Roy, President Bill Clinton, Ashok Mahubani and Amrita Mahubani. Credit: Clinton Global Initiative
Reeta also moderated a panel titled, “Transformative Tools for a Skilled Workforce”, which looked at solutions to prepare young people to enter the workforce by asking three key questions:
How can we capture the imaginations and creativity of young people around the world who are looking for work?
How can we scale up what works?
What can we do differently?
Left to right: Reeta Roy, M’Hammed Abbad Andaloussi, Amber Arrington, Angel Gavidia, Ayshah Maende, and Juliet Musabeyezu. Credit: Clinton Global Initiative
The panel opened with remarks from M’Hammed Abbad Andaloussi – Chairman and CEO of Injaz Morocco, and Lakshmi Venkataraman Venkatesan – Founding Trustee and Executive Vice President of Bhartiya Yuva Shakti Trust, who gave examples of mentorships, apprenticeships, entrepreneurship and financial linkages as crucial components to transforming young people from job seekers to job creators.
This panel was unique as it also featured four extraordinary young people who shared their experiences and recommendations.
Amber Arrington – Arts Connect program graduate at Hilltop Artists
A common thread emerged from all their stories – the transformative impact of the ‘non-financial support’ they received in the form of mentorships, life skills, peer support and community engagement; all of which are critical to developing and nurturing 21st century skills for young people. One of the participants, Ayshah Maende, is a field officer at Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT) – a partner of The MasterCard Foundation. She described how mentorships create space for young people to grow in a supportive environment and how, through the DOT program, she has discovered her own passion for community development.
On the question of how to scale what works? Juliet suggested that “Maybe scaling up means finding people who have the same passion as you have and connecting. Finding where your areas overlap and connecting.”
It has been almost a year since we commenced our project in Haiti with YouthBuild International. Our partnership with YouthBuild International is providing youth with employment training and job placements. We travelled to Haiti in October to see the project and review progress and the budget in preparation for year two. Our first day was spent in meeting rooms pouring over spreadsheets and discussing implications of the various adjustments to the budget.
On the second day, the vocational specialist Jean Yves took us out to one of the training centers that the Foundation is funding – a place called Gressier. We arrived at the site and saw an impressive stone-built training center in a field outside the community. Chandler, the training center coordinator, greeted us and after we signed in, showed us around the center. There was an administration office, a computer lab, a micro factory, a couple of storage rooms and a large training facility. A group of students were being trained on how to find a job. These students were not only learning about how to find jobs, but were also being taught technical skills, such as masonry, tiling, plumbing, electrical and other building skills that are currently in demand in Haiti due to the post-earthquake reconstruction.
We asked lots of questions and at the end of the tour, Chandler said, “Let me take you to a job site to see some of our interns who have found jobs already.” We took a ride through some narrow paths until we came to a compound that was surrounded by a fence with barb wire. Multiple small permanent structures were being built inside the fence. These structures are being built to move people out of the tent communities and into permanent residences. There were probably more than a hundred Haitian workers on the site as well as a few international workers who were overseeing the project and helping out. The IDEJEN Gressier training center has been able to place 10 of their interns on this work site in paid positions. Chandler took us over to one building under construction where one of the interns was working.
I met Jean Louie. Jean has gone through the six-month training course at IDEJEN, and had been taught masonry. He has been on the worksite for one month and said he enjoys his job. He was mudding the houses when we met him.
Jean Louie
There were four workers and two assistants to a team – all local Haitian workers. They typically complete two houses a day and sometimes get started on a third. Jean was being paid 1,000 gourdes a day, which is roughly $25 a day. He was working while talking to me and I guess I got a little too close, because when I walked away I noticed that I had little flecks of concrete on my clothes.
Here we were in Haiti, meeting people who are part of our program, engaged in meaningful work and using newly learned skills to provide a living for themselves and their families. No longer was it just a work plan, a budget, or a report from the field. I was able to see how this program and our partnership with YouthBuild and IDEJEN is beginning to impact people’s lives, their families and the communities around them.
Reeta joined The MasterCard Foundation in 2008. Previously, she was Divisional Vice President of Global Citizenship and Policy at Abbott, a broad-based global health care company, and Vice President of the Abbott Fund, its corporate foundation. Read more >
