Education Pages on Facebook

Regional Map of Africa

We invite you to use the pages linked below to promote education in your country. Even though the target of our pilot project is to promote and facilitate post-secondary education in Africa, we encourage you to use these pages to raise public awareness about any area of education relevant to your country.

Central Africa

Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, and São Tomé and Príncipe.

East Africa

Burundi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.

North Africa

Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, and Western Sahara.

Southern Africa

Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

West Africa

Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.

HOW CAN YOU HELP:

(1) participate, contribute, and stay on topic
(2) invite your friends to join these pages
(3) volunteer in a local NGO that cares about education

Thank you for caring about Education!

Meeting in Bujumbura

This past Friday, February 4, 2012, members of the JEANCKA University Iduka Chapter, gathered in a classroom in Kamenge, Quarter of Mirango I in Bujumbura. Most participants were  students who recently participated in the IT & Computer courses offered by the École Technique Supérieur de Kamenge (ETS).

The meeting was convened to discuss, review, and submit to Iduka some of the most Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) posed by students regarding the ongoing Iduka “LinkedIn® Challenge” Scholarship.

Drafting the questions... to be answered here soon!

Do you have a question?

Please send your questions with your picture or the picture of your school to iduka.chapters@gmail.com.

If your question is selected, we will feature it on this blog. This will help us create a comprehensive Frequently Asked Questions section for our ongoing “LinkedIn® Challenge” Scholarship.

Thanks in advance for your participation!

Angola – Mapping the Country’s Education System

So, after a rollercoaster few weeks Jolandie has finally got her Angolan visa and is about to set off on her Cycle For Education Tour of the country. But just what can she expect education-wise?

Flag of Angola

The country gained independence in 1975, but experienced intense civil war from 1975 – 2002. Since the closure of that period, Angola has looked towards stability and rebuilding the shattered education system. There is now compulsory, free primary school education for children in Angola for the first four years (which begins at the age of 6 or 7). Primary school then lasts for another four years and secondary school education follows immediately afterwards. In 2000 this system was classed as severely sub-standard with over half of adults classified as illiterate. The Angolan government has since concentrated on shifting that situation for the betterment of the people. Education reform started in 2004, and by 2008 over 80% of students had been integrated into the new system.*

The Ministry of Education is based in Luanda, and in 2009 this Ministry made an agreement (with UNICEF) to provide quality education training to 8,750 primary school teachers over the course of three years.** In addition, just yesterday, allafrica.com reported that over 1500 adults of the Chicomba district have been attending the second phase of a programme designed to fight illiteracy. Since the beginning of the programme, 6,500 adults have been taught to read and write.

Luanda, Angola's capital city.

But what about post-secondary education? There has been considerable development in post-secondary education over the last few decades. Just after independence, the public Universidade Agostinho Neto (UAN) was established, and shortly afterwards came Universidade Católica de Angola (UCAN). A wave of political liberalisation in the 1990s saw the growth of many private universities, some of which were directly linked to Portugal. In 2010 the UAN split up, with various faculties now constituting autonomous public universities (two have retained the UAN name). Pupils hoping to continue to university level are now required to undergo a post-secondary, “pre-university” 2-3 year course.***

A class in Kuito...

Although great progress clearly has been made in the country, there are still many challenges ahead. Primary school enrollment is at an all time high, however drop out rates keep increasing. Around 20% of males and 45% of females are still illiterate, despite the programmes implemented to directly tackle this problem***. The solution is not a short-term one but the focus on education is clearly present – I’m sure Jolandie will have personal insight into this situation once she gets back on the road.

 Sources:

* i4donline.net.

** UNICEF.org

*** angola-today.com

Image of Luanda… Photo: Silje L. Bakke, Wikipedia.org

Image of schoolchildren… Photo: Living in Kuito, Wikipedia.org

 

 

Jolandie Tackles Namibian Terrain

Travelling towards Windhoek (the capital of Namibia), this is Jolandie’s update in pictures and videos…

Sunday 22nd May and howling winds…

Despite the winds, Jolandie managed 100km in ONE day!!

 

 

Wednesday 25th May

Jolandie does a happy dance because the wind changed from head to tail!

Thursday 26th May

Oops, puncture again...

The big city beckons - 187km to Windhoek

 

Jolandie has met so many interesting and supportive people along the way – word of her ‘Cycle for Eduction’ is spreading and you can be sure that, in Windhoek, she will be met with a mighty reception!

Heading Towards Keetmanshoop, Namibia!

A long way to go....

The last few days of Jolandie’s travels have been quite eventful. Cycling towards Grünau mid-week (Grünau is the border town between South Africa and Namibia), Jolandie had a 70km cycle to tackle. Late to start due to (yet another) flat tyre, Jolandie had a long uphill struggle and managed to cover 30km in four hours! The following 10km offered a little downhill break and she even stopped by the side of the road for a short while to give her first live radio interview in Namibia on 5 FM! Jolandie definitely knows how to maximise the potential of a day.

 Picking up the road again, Jolandie pushed ahead and cycled well into the moonlight hours. At 21hr15 she called it quits for the day, rolled out her sleeping bag into a nice deep ditch and was out like a light until dawn.

A nice, comfortable ditch - no tent required.

The second half of the road to Grünau was a little faster on Thursday – and Jolandie received plenty of supporting beeps from truckers that passed her by! Today will hopefully be a day of rest for Jolandie if she reaches Keetmanshoop – and very well deserved.

Jolandie is looking very happy after having a warm shower.

I shall leave the final words of this update with the cyclist herself, as she experienced a gesture of friendship and goodwill that will stay with her for the long road ahead. Such a story demonstrates how much she values all of your support along the way…

Diary entry, Thursday 19th May:
“A friend in Windhoek (although we haven’t met, I call him my friend), Raymond Spall, sent me a little gift. A woman came round the corner with a cup and a note in hand. The note read: “from Raymond Spall”. He had organised me a cup of hot milo, all the way from out Windhoek! That small gesture just about had me in tears!!”

A generous, and very welcome, gift!

 

Field Partner Application Form Now Online

The Field Partner application form is now available online. Before you start filling out the form, please make sure you are familiar with the following:

• Iduka African Pilot Project
• Field Partner roles and responsibilities
• Cycle For Education event and its mission and goals

Sylvanus Murray leading AID-SL relief distribution to street beggars in downtown Freetown, Sierra Leone

If your organization is aligned with our mission and goals and can perform the roles and responsibilities of a field partner, please fill out the Field Partner Application form.

Thank you for your interest in partnering with Iduka!

A New Era of Collaboration

During the fund development phase (phase 2) that started at the beginning of May, 2011, the focus of our African Pilot Project shifted from setting up teams of student intern volunteers across Africa (phase 1) to working together with local field partners around various fundraising events that include two core initiatives: cycle for education and the creation of student portfolios in our focus areas.

School in D.R. Congo

Tired of seeing pictures like the one above? Want to change the state of education in Africa? You can make an impact by joining our team as an individual or as a field partner. Together we can usher a new era of collaboration to create educational opportunities for underserved African youth.

We would love to hear from you.

(Image credit: Appolinaire Zagabe, D.R. Congo)

What’s After Secondary Education in Kenya?

This video was produced and shot by one of our students, Neville Albert, as part of his monthly progress report. Neville is currently a student at the prestigious Mohamed Amin TV and Film Training Centre in Nairobi, Kenya. He is also a recipient of a Reuters Thompson scholarship.

Make sure you check out his story here. To invest in students in Kenya, please visit this page.

We appreciate your contribution to Neville’s education!

Videographer’s Note:  This video was done on a HD mobile phone and edited for the most part on a Nokia N73. It was compressed using handbrake and sound on FPE. 

10 Days on the Road

Entering Moorreesburg!

After just over a week on the ‘Cycle For Education’ Tour, Jolandie has experienced enough to fill a month! Crowds gave her a fantastic send off from Cape Town on the 27^th April, but misfortune struck on the following day… Jolandie fell ill with flu. Cycling 50km, she made it to Malmesbury and then was forced to rest for a little while to recover. Pushing forward, on day three, Jolandie managed to make the cold and windy journey to Moorreesburg, but the illness would not shake off! Moreover, weather forecasts predicted rain from the 3^rd May until today… so Jolandie decided to take a few days to rest and recuperate. She will need full strength for what lies ahead and already the elements have pushed challenges in her way.

Jolandie predicts that she will reach the border and enter Namibia in about 10 days time. Namibia is situated on Africa’s South-West coast. With a population of just 2.2 million, it is sparsely populated and mainly filled with desert land (this will increase the challenges on Jolandie’s journey!)

Jolandie on the road

Namibia will be holding a national ‘Conference on Education’ from June 27 to July 1 in the capital city, Windhoek. The Conference will provide an in-depth analysis of the education system at all levels and will seek to improve the system for ‘Quality Learning Outcomes and Quality of Life’ (Source: The Namibian). Jolandie’s Cycle for Education through Namibia could not be better timed – by delivering her open letter to the leaders of Namibia when she crosses the border, Jolandie will be helping to raise the profile of higher education at a time when the country itself will be reflecting on educational issues.

News Source:

The Namibian (2011), ‘Conference on education in June’, (Accessed 5 May 2011)

Iduka Partnership with A.I.D. (Advocacy Initiative for Development) in Sierra Leone!

Iduka is proud to announce a partnership with Advocacy Initiative for Development (AID) Organisation based in Sierra Leone. AID began as a youth services agency but, after incredible success, has expanded to encompass broad-based programmes that offer educational and vocational training, advocacy for human rights, and services that promote the development of whole communities.

Founder of AID, Sylvanus Murray, facilitates computer training

AID has now taken on the role of Iduka Field Partner as part of Iduka’s Africa Pilot Project (iAPP), and will have the important responsibility of selecting, supporting and developing Iduka’s scholarship recipients. Mr. Sylvannus Murray (pictured) is the founder of AID and is now a Vice Chair on the Executive Committee for Iduka, assisting student development in West Africa.

As an iAPP Partner, AID has several key responsibilities, including:

• The selection and submission of students for Iduka’s scholarship scheme
• Reviewing student candidates that are forwarded by Iduka (local students that have contacted Iduka directly)
• Personally interviewing student candidates
• Maintaining records of each student
• Assisting students with their online profiles and subsequent online profile updates
• Managing the scholarship moneys that are payable to the educational institution that the student is attending
• Conducting follow-up interviews to make sure the students are getting all the support they need, and are actively volunteering in their community.

Of course, no student can benefit from Iduka’s education scholarships without a committed Field Partner working within the community to provide the vital student support. Moreover, local Iduka volunteers rely on Field Partners such as AID for leadership, mentoring and opportunities to make a difference. The networks and relationships that will result from the AID-Iduka partnership will create international awareness of the importance of higher education in Africa, and this partnership will also offer more education, skills and livelihood opportunities for students in Sierra Leone.

Sylvanus Murray working with volunteers

About AID:

Sylvanus Murray created AID in with the dream of establishing an organisation that advocates for the rights of humanity and offers services for the holistic development of people and their communities. Initially focusing on programmes such as education, health care, skills training, income generation schemes, youth empowerment and protecting women’s rights, the organisation soon expanded to include:

• Human rights education
• Gender and women empowerment
• Child welfare
• The eradication of human trafficking
• Good governance
• Sanitation and hygiene
• Peace and security…

… to name a few.

With this level of commitment to the development of African nations it is certain that, together, Iduka and AID (and all of Iduka’s partners) will push forward the post-secondary education agenda in Africa.