AGA KHAN ACADEMY MOMBASA

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Tech upgrade at Aga Khan Academy Mombasa

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echcabal.com/2015/07/14/kenyas-aga-khan-academy-library-to-effect-a-ksh-1-7-million-tech-upgrade/


By Olumuyiwa Coker NewsJuly 14, 2015
Kenya’s Aga Khan Academy Library to effect a Ksh. 1.7 million tech upgrade

Education

Kenya-based private school, Aga Khan Academy, will be upgrading its edutech services with a virtual desktop technology, N-computing. A project that will set the school back by up to Ksh 1.7 million ($16,700).

The upgrade will provide students of the institution quick access to library catalogue, online lessons, chat and web-enhanced lectures, according to a Techmoran report. N-computing allows multiple users share one central processing unit (CPU) while each user still has a monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers.

“While in the library reading or researching, our students do not have to physically meet a teacher to explain concepts, they just upload specific software they require for the subject in question and get all the additional coaching or instructions they need,” said Mombasa Simon Otieno, acting head of the academy, in the report.

Scaling up edutech services in the academy is already helping the academy cut down on overhead. According to TechMoran, the school has saved up to 75 percent on hardware costs, along with electricity costs that has gone down by about 90 percent since introducing the technology.

Credit: Jarmulok Via Pixabay
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Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa, Leads With Kiswahili/ English International Baccalaureate

Coastweek-- The Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa, has broken new ground with the first ever Swahili – English version of the Primary Years Programme (PYP) for the International Baccalaureate (IB), the world’s most prestigious university entrance qualification, by developing and pioneering a Kenyan-relevant version of the programme at a time when all other IB schools in the country are using an English language version.

The programme’s development in collaboration with the International Baccalaureate Organisation, has been driven by the Academy’s vision of offering world class education that spans both global and local expertise.

Learning in two languages has additionally been proven to aid the development of children’s intelligence and thinking, with bilingual children able to solve problems that contain conflicting or misleading cues at an earlier age, and more easily, than monolingual children, according to research by the University of Minnesota’s Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition.

The Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa, which is one of a global network of academies dedicated to the development of leaders, began developing the new PYP programme in 2009.

It now has the curricula approved and implemented for Years 1 - 4.

As these children progress through the school, they will proceed into the IB Middle Years programme, they will proceed into the IB Middle Years programme and will have the opportunity to complete a bilingual IB Diploma in English and Swahili.

“When His Highness started the Aga Khan Academy network of schools, he had the vision of educating future leaders, who would later be able to drive positive development in their societies and this would only be possible if the children had a powerful grasp of their local language, which in this case is Swahili,” said Esther Kariuki, a teacher of the dual language programme.

The benefits of the dual language programme extend beyond advanced cognitive abilities to include cultural and social gains, with the new IB-PYP programme encompassing the Swahili culture.

The 2013 UNDP Human Development Report states that Swahili is the most widely spoken language in Africa, with 150m speakers, and is an official national language in four countries.

Such a large body of Swahili speakers gives future entrepreneurs at the Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa a further advantage in doing business and in playing leadership roles on the continent.

The Aga Khan Academy in Maputo is likewise pioneering a dual language English and Portuguese PYP, as the Academy in Hyderabad pioneers an English and Hindi PYP.

The dual language program works by using two languages for teaching.

“The school has adopted the 50-50 model of dual language education, which means that half of the instruction is done in Swahili and half of the instruction is done in English.

“One day the children learn the curriculum in English and the next day they continue their studies in Swahili,” said Esther.

Different capabilities in Swahili have seen teachers additionally deploy new teaching methods.

“One of them is differentiated instruction, where a teacher plans a lesson according to the children’s different proficiency levels in Swahili.

“Students in a class will be grouped according to their level of understanding in Swahili then taught using learning activities fit for their proficiency,” said Esther.

Another method is dramatization, where the teacher acts out whatever might not be understood by the students.

“For instance, when reading out a Swahili comprehension, the teacher can ask the students who have understood to role play it out to those who have not,” she said.

It is the responsibility of the teacher to use all available methods to make sure the children understand without simply giving a translation, even if it means using body language, as this helps to build deeper learning of the language.

For subjects such as mathematics and the sciences, teachers can use other teaching aids.

“Here, teaching aids are used to help students better understand.

"For instance, a model of the human body can be used to explain the digestive system, or a big protractor can help in teaching how to draw angles.

“Even if the children are still developing their understanding of Swahili, they can learn from what they are seeing,” said Esther.

Teachers at Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa also make use of peer teaching.

“This is known as co-operative learning, whereby students are divided into small groups and led by those who better understand the concepts, who help all understand,” said Esther.

Through this, all students are able to build a more complex understanding of the topic being covered.

Before the launch of the program, a lot of preparation was done.

“First the teachers had to be trained in the dual language program and we also had to look for any type of resources, such as textbooks, that would help us in delivering the curriculum in Swahili,” said Esther.

Intensive training took place for three days, followed by continuous in-house training at the academy’s Teacher Profes-sional Development Centre, which also teaches educators from across the public schooling sector.

http://www.coastweek.com/3833-extra-03.htm
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Post by kmaherali »

Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa, Pilots International Baccalaureate Program in Kiswahili

For the first time in Africa and indeed the world, International Baccalaureate (IB), the world’s most prestigious university entrance qualification, will be taught in Kiswahili. This feat was achieved by Aga Khan Academy in Mombasa, Kenya.

The Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa, which is one of a global network of academies dedicated to the development of leaders, became the first academic institution to offer the first ever Swahili – English version of the Primary Years Programme (PYP) for the International Baccalaureate (IB) by developing and pioneering a Kenyan-relevant version of the programme at a time when all other IB schools in the country are using an English language version. This means that all subjects including mathematics and sciences will be taught in Kiswahili in the academy.

The programme which was developed in collaboration with the International Baccalaureate Organisation has been driven by the Academy’s vision of offering world class education that spans both global and local expertise.

According to a research by the University of Minnesota’s Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition, learning in two languages has additionally been proven to aid the development of children’s intelligence and thinking, with bilingual children able to solve problems that contain conflicting or misleading cues at an earlier age, and more easily, than monolingual children.

The Aga Khan Academy began developing the new PYP programme in 2009. It now has the curricula approved and implemented for Years 1 – 4. As these children progress through the school, they will proceed into the IB Middle Years programme, they will proceed into the IB Middle Years programme and will have the opportunity to complete a bilingual IB Diploma in English and Swahili.

“When His Highness started the Aga Khan Academy network of schools, he had the vision of educating future leaders, who would later be able to drive positive development in their societies and this would only be possible if the children had a powerful grasp of their local language, which in this case is Swahili,” said Esther Kariuki, a teacher of the dual language programme.

The benefits of the dual language programme extend beyond advanced cognitive abilities to include cultural and social gains, with the new IB-PYP programme encompassing the Swahili culture.

The 2013 UNDP Human Development Report states that Swahili is the most widely spoken language in Africa, with 150m speakers, and is an official national language in four countries. Such a large body of Swahili speakers gives future entrepreneurs at the Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa a further advantage in doing business and in playing leadership roles on the continent.

The Aga Khan Academy in Maputo is likewise pioneering a dual language English and Portuguese PYP, as the Academy in Hyderabad pioneers an English and Hindi PYP.

The dual language program works by using two languages for teaching. “The school has adopted the 50-50 model of dual language education, which means that half of the instruction is done in Swahili and half of the instruction is done in English. “One day the children learn the curriculum in English and the next day they continue their studies in Swahili,” said Esther.

Different capabilities in Swahili have seen teachers additionally deploy new teaching methods.

“One of them is differentiated instruction, where a teacher plans a lesson according to the children’s different proficiency levels in Swahili. Students in a class will be grouped according to their level of understanding in Swahili then taught using learning activities fit for their proficiency,” said Esther.

Another method is dramatisation, where the teacher acts out whatever might not be understood by the students. “For instance, when reading out a Swahili comprehension, the teacher can ask the students who have understood to role play it out to those who have not,” she said.

It is the responsibility of the teacher to use all available methods to make sure the children understand without simply giving a translation, even if it means using body language, as this helps to build deeper learning of the language.

For subjects such as mathematics and the sciences, teachers can use other teaching aids. “Here, teaching aids are used to help students better understand. For instance, a model of the human body can be used to explain the digestive system, or a big protractor can help in teaching how to draw angles. Even if the children are still developing their understanding of Swahili, they can learn from what they are seeing,” said Esther.

Teachers at Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa also make use of peer teaching. “This is known as co-operative learning, whereby students are divided into small groups and led by those who better understand the concepts, who help all understand,” said Esther. Through this, all students are able to build a more complex understanding of the topic being covered.

Before the launch of the program, a lot of preparation was done. “First the teachers had to be trained in the dual language program and we also had to look for any type of resources, such as textbooks, that would help us in delivering the curriculum in Swahili,” said Esther.

Intensive training took place for three days, followed by continuous in-house training at the academy’s Teacher Professional Development Centre, which also teaches educators from across the public schooling sector.

http://www.edufrica.com/blog/2015/09/ag ... kiswahili/
kmaherali
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Post by kmaherali »

English and Mathematics classes for Mombasa public teachers

September 30, 2015

The Aga Khan Academy Mombasa has launched a programme to help students in public schools improve their performance in English and Mathematics.

The programme involves the use of Abracadabra and Emerging Literacy in Mathematics software developed by the University of Concordia in Canada.

The software will help teachers learn new methods of teaching the two subjects.

Aga Khan director of the Professional Development Centre Anthony Gioko said since the programme’s inception in May, 147 head teachers have been trained.

“Although the teachers’ strike has interfered, 180,000 students have been reached,” he said.

Speaking to the Star in Mombasa town, Gioko said 147 primary schools, 24 secondary schools and three teacher training colleges are participating.

The schools include Ganjoni, Central Girls, Mbaraki, and State of the Sea all in Mombasa.

“We intend to train 4,335 teachers to reach an approximated target of 765,300 pupils and students by 2017,” Gioko said.

The programme is a collaboration involving Aga Khan Academy, the Ministry of Education, Teachers Service Commission, Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development and World Vision.

Howard Omukami, the lead trainer, said the programme is important because “most upper primary teachers in the region can’t solve a standard two sum”.

He attributed the poor performance to a bad attitude among pupils and lack of proper teaching skills among teachers.

“It is unfortunate that most teachers especially those of mathematics behave like militants,” Omukami said.

“Instead of using students centred techniques, they just lecture them without caring whether they grasp or not.”

The programme will also train teachers in class management, collaborative learning and personal reflection.

This will help them influence their learners.

http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/english- ... c-teachers
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Post by kmaherali »

Mombasa school girls develop a stone that sucks poison out of snake bites

KENYA: Students at Coast Girls School have developed a small black stone that is saving lives following snake and scorpion bites in Kongowea and Likoni in Mombasa County, through a school project led by Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa, and supported by Intel and the Aga Khan Foundation (USA).

Educating Girls in Science (EGIS) is a two-year pilot project launched by the Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa, in 2014, to empower girls by increasing their engagement in science and in applying their knowledge outside the classroom to benefit their community.

“Working with teachers, students and science clubs, we are using the Educating Girls in Science project to train girls how to use knowledge in science for problem-solving and not just for the exams,” said Lucy Mwandawiro, the project’s coordinator and a teacher of chemistry at the academy.

The black stone, or viper stone, is a piece of processed bone made from the thigh bone of a cow used as a first aid measure for snake, scorpion and insect bites. Following training at the Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa, and intensive work with the academy’s project team, the girls conducted a community survey that found residents from the two areas were facing an ongoing challenge from snake and scorpion bites. Getting effective first aid and timely medical treatment was difficult because the communities are located a long way from hospitals.

In 1997, the Ministry of Health conducted a survey that showed that up to 30 per cent of snake bite incidences end in fatalities, because patients do not get timely first aid.

It was this need that saw the 25 girls from Coast Girls School base their project around ways of treating snake bites. On presenting the idea to the EGIS judges during the final project presentations at the Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa, in June this year, the students were provided with the financial and technical support to develop the stones for wider use.

The black stone is made by cleaning, drying and baking the thigh bone in order to increase its surface area and make it more absorptive. Traditionally, the black stone was prepared from any animal bone and left to cool in open air, a factor that re-oxidized the stone and reduced its absorptive ability. The girls improved on this method, using the thigh bone due to its highly porous nature, and cooling baked bones in an air tight container, in order to preserve their absorptive power.

Once prepared, the black stone neutralizes the fatal effects of a snake bite by soaking up the poison at the entry point. It is used by making a small cut on the bitten area until blood comes out and then placing the stone on the skin. The stone then absorbs the poison through capillary action reducing the fatality of a snake bite.

The Likoni and Kongowea residents are taking great interest in the stone. The few who knew about them thought they were a form of magic. But the Coast Girls School students are getting the residents to change this mindset by explaining to them how the stones work scientifically. They also found that some of the stones being sold in the areas were of poor quality so the girls are also embarking on the process of training people on how to make the stones more effectively.

They see this as a good way to give back to the community. The stones are cost-effective for the residents, since they can be re-used several times. Previously, residents would consult local healers who charged them up to Sh2,000 for each snake bite treatment, but the girls are empowering the communities to make the stones for themselves, as well as giving the first samples for free. After use, the stones are boiled in salty water, soaked for several hours in fresh milk and then dried again to restore the stones’ absorptive nature.

Coast Girls School is one of the24 schools that Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa is working with to solve community-based problems using classroom science through the EGIS project. The project started with nine schools in Mombasa County in 2014, but extended to Kwale County in August 2015 where it is now working with 15 schools.

http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/health/a ... nake-bites
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Aga Khan Academy Mombasa to launch on bi-lingual curriculum [YouTube]

The Aga Khan Academy in Mombasa has introduced a bi-lingual programme in its education curriculum that it intends to roll out to all its 20 institutions in Asia, Europe and the US. This new bi-lingual programme will see pupils and students learn all their subjects in English and Kiswahili.

https://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2015/ ... m-youtube/
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Aga Khan Academy Wins Top Trophies In CASA Open Junior Swim Championships

Coastweek -- Coast Amateur Swimming Association (CASA) hosted its Junior swimming gala at The Aga Khan Academy on the 7th of November 2015.

The two day gala received entries from Aga Khan Academy Mombasa, Oshwal Academy Mombasa, Braeburn Mombasa International, Busy Bee School, Mombasa Academy, Bandari Swim Club, Blue Ocean Swim Club, Dolphins Swim Club, Kivukoni Creek Club, Jaffery Academy Mombasa and Tudor Swimming Club.

The nine years and under swimming meet was the last gala for the present academic term.

Tugi Mwige, Ivan Hart, Sathyam Gohil, Alexandra Hart, Ameir Muravej, Lisa Serem, Ava Devan, Ryan Pasta and Samira Gulamali from The Aga Khan Academy Mombasa, scooped twenty two gold medals, eleven silver medals and seven bronze medals for their school.

Oshwal Academy Mombasa was awarded three gold medals, ten silver medals and fifteen bronze medals through Michelle Otieno, Natasha Thuranira, Emma Wambui, Faris Balala, Tshomela Muriuko, Deeya Shah, Dhairyan Shah, Imani Waganagwa and Moosajee Mohamed.

Hakeem Salim Kitendo, Ally Jamal, Haadiyah Jamal, Tariq Salim Kitendo, Brown Mitsanze, Eddy Wambuguand Erick Wambugu received eight gold medals, ten siver medals and ten bronze medals for their club, Bandari Swim Club.

Mombasa Academy scooped six gold medals, one silver medal and one bronze medal through its swimmers, Duini Caffini, Iqbaal Bayusuf and Aayan Natha.

Lubaina Islam Ali, Neema Ruwa, Van Acroschot Robine, Willa Barnett, Max Rippon and John Southward achieved a total of two gold medals, six silver medals and five bronze medals for their school, Braeburn International Mombasa.

Blue Ocean Swim Club were awarded three gold medals, two silver medals and two bronze medal through its swimmers Maria Bianchi.

Jaffery Academy Mombasa received two gold medals and three silver medals from Aliredha Gulamabbas, Mohammed Khazim and Khaku, Abdulazizi Mohammed.

Ameena Walji, Aryan Joseph and Zahida won one silver and two bronze medals for their club, Dolphin Swim Club.

Sam Davies won one gold medal and one bronze medal for his club, Kivukoni Creek Club.

Tudor Swimming Club received one bronze medal through Triumph Hekima.

The girl’s team of Aga Khan Academy won with 200 points, followed by Oshwal Academy Mombasa with 196 points, third place was awarded by Braeburn Mombasa International with 93.50 points.

Fourth place was given to Busy Bee School with 75 points, Mombasa Academy took fifth Place with 60 points.

With 43 points, Bandari took sixth place, Blue Ocean Swimming Club gained seventh place with 41.50 points, eighth place went to Dolphins Swim Cub with 25 points and with eleven points, Kivukoni took ninth place.

In the boy’s category, The Aga Khan Academy also took first position with 217 points, Bandari was awarded second place with 189 points and Oshwal Academy took third place with 127 points.

Fourth place was given to Jaffery Academy Mombasa with 122 points, while Braeburn Mombasa International got fifth pace with 35 points.

The sixth position was awarded to Busy Bee School with 32 points, Mombasa Academy took seventh place with 27 points, Tudor Swimming Club took eighth place with 16 points, Kivukoni Creek Club took ninth place with 12 points and with 9 points, Dolphin Swim Club took tenth place.

During the same gala, CASA were pleased to have had time trials for their senior swimmers where 11 National records and 13 CASA records were broken.

Emily Muteti broke the first National record in the 200m Butterfly which was being held by herself at an old time of 2:24.78.

She breaks three categories with her record, the All Commers, Open and 16 and Over category, the new record is now being held at 2:21.12.

Emily’s second National record was the 100m Butterfly which she was holding in the All Comers and 16 and Over Category at a time of 1:05.94. Achieng Ajulu-Bushell was holding the same event in the Open category with a time of 1:05.51.

The new record now is being by Emily is all the three categories at a time of 1:03.43.

The third National record broken by Emily was the 200m Individual Medley in the All Comers and 16 and Over category.

The records were held by herself and now rest at 2:27.94 after cutting off a second. She automatically holds the CASA record in all the above events in their respective categories.

Maahir Harunani went out to break the Boys All Comers National record of the 200m Butterfly which was being held by Abdulmajid Kadernani.

The new record of 2:13.36 erases the old record of 2:15.84. He also hold the CASA record in the same event and category,

The Girls 10/11 years 50m Backstroke National record was eliminated by Tiana Vora when she set a new time of 36.34, breaking the old time of 36.41 of Sharmee Shah which has been held since 2006.

The CASA record for the 200m backstroke was also improved by herself and sets it at a time of 2:52.94, missing the National record which is 2:52.57.

In the Boys 10/11 years category, Kunaal Khagram broke the 200m Freestyle record which was being held by his brother Karan Khagram at a time of 2:28.22, now stands at a new time of 2:27.84.

CASA is very proud of the achievements attained by their swimmers showing dedication and commitment to the sport; not to forget the positive support from their coaches and parents..

http://www.coastweek.com/3847-sports-04.htm
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Two Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa students win gold level President’s Award – Kenya

Coastweek (December 23, 2015) – Two students of the Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa, Sumera Yego and Magdalena Gakuo, are the first Kenyans to achieve the gold level President’s Award-Kenya (PA-K) via the newly introduced online documentation platform.

The President’s Award is a self development programme delivering life skills and ethical values to young people aged 14 to 25, with the aim of building a better society.

The Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa students Magdalena Gakuo and Sumera Yego with his Excellency President Uhuru Kenyatta, during the award ceremony. (Image via Coastweek)
Currently, 120 countries worldwide, including Kenya, Ghana, Mauritius, Canada and Australia are involved in the programme.

In September last year, PA-K launched online documentation to enable participants to use an online record book to document their activities.

Sources:
■Coastweek
■Mediamax
■NAM News Network

https://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2015/ ... ard-kenya/
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Microsoft Acknowledges Schools For Using Technology

Microsoft said it has acknowledged 42 schools across Africa for their best use of Microsoft technology in an initiative dubbed ‘Microsoft Showcase Schools’.

Microsoft said that the programme amplifies the use of modern technology to drive transformation and efficiencies in education.

According to the firm, these are not the only schools using technology but these are schools using the firm’s tech such as Surface, Office 365 Education, Office Mix, OneNote, Skype to modernize schools and improve learning.
Microsoft also has The Microsoft Associate Showcase Schools programme which is a whole-school approach to transformation.

Schools from Egypt, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, Tunisia, Uganda and Zambia were named Microsoft Showcase Schools this year.

Warren H.A La Fleur, Regional Manager, Education Industry for West, East, Central Africa and Indian Ocean Islands at Microsoft said, “At Microsoft we are committed to ensuring youth have the skills and access to technology they need to get the best education possible. Technology alone can’t transform education, but it is an accelerator when embraced by educators who see its value”.

Microsoft plans to continue partnering with more schools so that in the next five years every African country with a national technology deployment will have a core ‘army’ of 21st century-ready schools, which will model new competencies and accompany other schools in their journey to transformation.

The Microsoft Showcase Schools for 2016 in Africa include: L’école internationale les Alizés in Cape Verde; Westlands Primary School in Kenya; Mary Mount Secondary School in Kenya; Maralal Primary School in Kenya; Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa in Kenya; SARM State Secondary School in Mauritius; and Groupe Scolaire La Pointe des Almadies in Senegal.

The Microsoft Associate Showcase Schools for 2016 in Africa include: Lycee Jean Joseph Rabearivelo in Madagascar; Lycee Nanisana in Madagascar; Sir Leckraz Teelock State Secondary School in Mauritius; Renganaden seeneevassen SSS in Mauritius; Bon Accueil state college in Mauritius; John Kennedy College in Mauritius; Beau Sejour Government School in Mauritius; Sir Leckraz Teelock SSS in Mauritius; Rajcoomar Gujadhur State Secondary School in Mauritius; New Eton College in Mauritius; Plaisance Secondary in Seychelles; Glacis in Seychelles; Bel Ombre in Seychelles; Ecole El Hadj Mbaye Diop in Senegal; PMM Girls School in Uganda; and Libala Secondary in Zambia

http://footprint2africa.com/microsoft-a ... echnology/
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The Power of Global Action Projects: Aga Khan Academy graduate’s journey for social impact

While in high school at the Aga Khan Academy in Mombasa, Kenya, Karishma Bhagani founded Matone de Chiwit to provide water purifiers to places in need of clean water.

The water purifier received first prize overall in the Golden Climate International Science Fair Competition in 2014 and was the recipient of a $1000 seed grant from the Reynolds Changemaker Challenge at New York University in 2015.

Her story is an excellent example of the power of global action projects. This blog is part of our ongoing series by young adults who participated in Global Citizens Initiative’s Summer Youth Summit.

The Power of Global Action Projects: One Student’s Journey

By guest blogger Karishma Bhagani on March 11, 2016 12:18 PM

https://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2016/ ... al-impact/
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A Celebration of Service at AKA Mombasa

On Saturday 23 April, a ‘Celebration of Service’ fair was held at the Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa. It aimed to display all the service activities that students from different year groups have been involved in throughout this year. The fair allowed us to show how involved our school is with service activities, as well as the different ways we can give back to the community.

Previously, not many people knew what other service groups were doing, so this event was a great opportunity for everyone to find out what activities were being carried out. The way people serve the community is very diverse, ranging from providing academic enhancement and rehabilitation through sports, as well as teaching them new life skills that will be of great use to them as they grow older.

It was so fascinating to see how everyone was giving back to the community in every possible way, and was making a difference, no matter how small. Most of the service groups work with girls and boys from Unity School or Ganjoni Primary. The two service groups that really caught my eye were UHAI and Football for Hope. UHAI works with a hospice, to help improve their quality of life and allow them to be happier. Football for Hope aims to rehabilitate the street boys of Mombasa. These service groups are making great changes to the community, and are changing the world for the better of everyone.

Service not only helps others, but also teaches us to value our resources and privileges, and to better understand and appreciate what we have. It is also a great opportunity for us to practice the qualities we learn about in the Strands and IB Learner Profile in real life. I look forward to becoming more involved with the different service activities I learned about over my coming years at the Academy.

By Tabreek Somani, Year 9 (The Reporters)
http://www.agakhanacademies.org/mombasa ... -mombasa-0
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Make right choices in life, First Lady tells graduating students

It’s not every day that First Lady Margaret Kenyatta finds time to grace graduation ceremonies in learning institutions.

Her diary is routinely booked with official commitments related to health issues especially those focused on mothers and children and HIV/Aids.

But when 47 students from a class of 68 diploma graduands secure international scholarships in prestigious and globally acclaimed universities in America, Europe, Canada, Australia and several Middle East nations , many stakeholders with a soft heart for children take a time to appreciate the heroic achievement.

It is this gallant achievement that took the First Lady to Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa today to preside over the 10th graduation ceremony where two of the Diplomates, both Girls, Sumera Yego and Magdalena Chizi were also the first Kenyans to achieve the gold-level President’s Award-Kenya (PA-K, 2015) via the online documentation platform introduced in the country last year.

The 47 uniquely talented students have accumulatively secured scholarships worth US dollars 5.3 million in various internationally reputable universities including Yale, Johns Hopkins, Emory, New York, Abu Dhabi, California Berkley, British Columbia McGill , and Toronto among others.

Aga Khan Academy, incorporating both Primary and Secondary schools, follows the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum and its graduates receive Diplomas to allow them direct entry into various universities to pursue a lucrative career related programs including rocket science and space exploration.

IB programs challenge students to excel in their studies and encourage both personal and academic achievement. The objective of the IB program is to produce “locally rooted (to respective country) global citizens” according to the Academy’s Head of the Mombasa academy Mr. William O. Hearn.

The Aga Khan network operates academies across the world including Kenya, India, and Maputo, Mozambique.

First Lady Margaret Kenyatta, who is in the coastal region to deliver Beyond Zero’s 40th fully kitted mobile clinic to Lamu County and also visit Mombasa’s SOS children’s village broke her schedule to join the proud parents and teachers at the Academy’s graduation ceremony.

The First Lady told the graduating candidates they must henceforth make the right choices that positively determine their destinies away from the scrutiny of teachers and parents and thousands of miles away and individually scattered all over the world.

“I believe you’re ready for the ups and downs that lie ahead of you—the difficult choices, and demanding workloads, the peculiar challenges, and unprecedented successes, the hard work, the hiccups, the heartbreaks and the happiness that, hopefully, the future holds for all of you”,she told the Academy’s garduates of 2016.

The First Lady told the graduands to always stand for the truth even when their decisions were not always the most popular.
She challenged the students to embrace give back to society whatever

http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2016/05/ ... s_c1355127

****
VIDEO of the event:

/ismailimail.wordpress.com/2016/05/21/video-aga-khan-academy-mombasas-10th-graduation-ceremony/

******
H.E. Mrs Kenyatta Addresses the Class of 2016

21 May 2016

http://www.agakhanacademies.org/general ... class-2016
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Aga Khan Academy Mombasa part of the programme: Celebrating learning without borders through Microsoft’s Skype-a-thon

By Editorial Team

Last year we celebrated learning without borders with a Global Education Skype-a-thon which is a 2-day event aimed at connecting classrooms around the world to showcase how technology can be used to enhance the learning experience.

In a world that is increasingly becoming economically, politically and culturally fractured, the ability to unite students across the globe to celebrate and embrace learning has never been more important. Today, teachers not only have a duty to teach skills and impart knowledge to their students but they must also play a key role in developing students into global citizens to enable them to succeed and make a positive impact in an increasingly complex society.

Because Microsoft believes that a powerful way to learn is from each other, a total of four schools from Africa and the Middle East, including Kenya, South Africa, Egypt and Turkey as well as many others around the world were selected to participate in this one-of-a-kind event, where students and educators were empowered to do just that.

During their 3 million virtual mile journey across the world, students and educators were able to connect with each other in fun and creative ways to learn about different cultures and gain invaluable insights into countries all over the world. Have a look at the pictures below to see how the Skype-a-thon gave these schools in the Middle East and Africa the opportunity to discover their place in the global community.

Photos and more at:

https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/mic ... pe-a-thon/
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Aga Khan Academy Mombasa introduces electronic exam system

Aga Khan Academy Mombasa has introduced a computerized electronic examination assessment platform in a bid to eliminate exam leakages and courier costs for exam papers. Dubbed the ‘e-Assessment’ the program has made it possible for the students to take online modified exams tailored to challenge their creativity and critical thinking skills while avoiding cases of students cheating.

The e-Assessment on-screen platform software is installed into computers by an administrator who accesses it immediately prior to the exam starting time and instructs the local system to notify the IB server that the platform is now online and ready for the impending exam.

http://www.eabusinesstimes.com/aga-khan ... am-system/
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The Aga Khan Academies appoint Dr Graham Ranger as Academic Director

07 October 2016

Graham Ranger June 2015.jpg

The Aga Khan Academies are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Graham Ranger as Academic Director, with effect from 1st January 2017.

Dr Ranger is an experienced and internationally recognised educator and school leader with over 35 years’ experience of working and living around the globe and significant experience within the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum. He joins the Aga Khan Academies from the Council of International Schools (CIS) where he has held the position of Director of School Support and Evaluation since 2012 and been directly responsible for overseeing the quality of education provided by over 700 member schools across 114 countries. Previously, Dr Ranger has served as: Head of The British School in New Delhi, India; Director of Education for the English Schools Foundation (ESF) in Hong Kong; and a senior inspector for Her Majesty’s Inspector of Schools in England. Dr Ranger began his career in education as a teacher of geography.



Dr Ranger graduated from the University of London, Kings College and earned his Doctorate in Education from the University of Durham in the United Kingdom. The Aga Khan Academies are delighted to welcome Dr Ranger as Academic Director.

http://www.agakhanacademies.org/mombasa ... c-director
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About TEDx

x = independently organized event

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or fewer) delivered by today's leading thinkers and doers. Many of these talks are given at TED's annual conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, and made available, free, on TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Sal Khan and Daniel Kahneman.

TED's open and free initiatives for spreading ideas include TED.com, where new TED Talk videos are posted daily; the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as translations from thousands of volunteers worldwide; the educational initiative TED-Ed; the annual million-dollar TED Prize, which funds exceptional individuals with a "wish," or idea, to create change in the world; TEDx, which provides licenses to thousands of individuals and groups who host local, self-organized TED-style events around the world; and the TED Fellows program, which selects innovators from around the globe to amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.

Follow TED on Twitter at https://twitter.com/TEDTalks, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TED or Instagram at https://instagram.com/ted.


Event details

Location: Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa Commons
Date and Time: 14th January, 2017
Private: AKA,M Senior School event
Theme: Decrypting Fantasy: tales of the unseen
Contact information: tedxakam@gmail.com

https://tedxyouthakamombasa.com/
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Aga Khan Academy Mombasa Students
Organize School’s First Official TEDx Event


Coastweek-- This Saturday 14 January 2017, 100 participants from the Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa community gathered together to share ideas and be inspired by an amazing line-up of speakers of different ages and backgrounds at the TEDx Youth@AKAMombasa event, writes ALEESHA SULEMAN.


Firstly, what is TEDx?

“TEDx is a program of local, self-organised events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience.

“At a TEDx event, TED Talk videos and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection.

“These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event.

“The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.”

The event is the Academy’s first official TEDx event and is one of the first of its kind hosted in Mombasa.

Licensee and Lead Organiser Aalia Visram said “Events such as TEDxYouth@AKAMombasa are important for youth to be able to connect and participate in TED’s vision of ‘ideas worth spreading’.

It was incredible to see the hard-work and amazing organisational skills of all the student volunteers and team members culminate in such an exceptional event.”

The theme of the event was “Decrypting Fantasy: Tales of the Unseen” and the topics covered by the speakers ranged from the power of a vision to the relevance of social media to farming.

Joining 13 student speakers from the Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa, were 5 guest-speakers from around Kenya.

Famous hip-hop artist Juliani, Olympic Kenyan archer Shehzana Anwar, filmmaker and producer Hatim Hassanali, Head of External Affairs at the Aga Khan Academy Gulam Juma, and Naheed Hirji, Head of Growth and Mobile Partnerships at Facebook, were all part of the inspiring speaker line-up.

In the opening address, the audience was told that they were “the key to change”.

http://www.coastweek.com/4004-extra-03.htm
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Aga Khan Academy Mombasa students showcase projects to address key challenges in Kenya

The Aga Khan Academy Mombasa last week held an exhibition to showcase some of the innovate projects by their students. The Annual Personal Projects Exhibition of the Academy’s Year 10 students was a culmination of intensive year-long projects. Under this projects, the students identify areas of need, backed up by intensive research which is then developed into a viable product or outcome.

The projects are also part of the school’s curricular programme aimed at creating outstanding young entrepreneurs, scientists and future leaders.

This year’s exhibition featured about 80 innovative projects, with Shashank Arvindan presenting a model for a solar-powered airport for Mombasa, Suleiman Mwachizi unveiling an electrostatic precipitator to control air pollution and Telvin Kameta showcasing a bump detector gadget that aims to reduce road accidents

These projects are particularly relevant considering the issues affecting Kenya like the heavy cost of electricity, elevated pollution levels and an exceptionally high record of road deaths, with 3,057 people killed in road crashes in the country in 2015.

More...
http://techtrendske.co.ke/aga-khan-acad ... -projects/
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Christine Robertson: From Canada to Kenya

Christine Robertson is a veteran Ontario teacher who began a secondment to the Aga Khan Academy (AKA) Mombasa in April 2016. She talks about her experience of coming to Kenya and her first days of getting to know the Academy.

Extract:

This would be a chance to work with both students and teachers; a great opportunity for learning, as well as for sharing from my own experience and training. At the time, though, I was unfamiliar with the PYP [Primary Years Programme]. I’ve known about the IB [International Baccalaureate] programme for some time, but only as an option for high school students interested and motivated to pursue an alternative curriculum. However, once I began to understand the PYP, I realised it aligned with the project-based and inquiry learning that had already been a part of my own practise. This comes from my background in experiential education.

More...
http://www.agakhanacademies.org/mombasa ... nada-kenya
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A better world through education: The Aga Khan Academies

VIDEO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oi-Et9Laiok

The International Baccalaureate featured the Aga Khan Academies and its approach to creating home-grown leaders. Watch to learn how the Academies work to transform the communities in which they are located.

www.agakhanacademies.org
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Aga Khan Academy students hold an event to bring together the 44 tribes of Kenya

Video

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox ... 031f7fa134
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76 graduate from Aga Khan Academy


Seventy six International Baccalaureate students were Saturday awarded with diplomas at the Aga Khan Academy in Mombasa during its 12th graduation ceremony.

The students have been offered more than USD 6 million (Sh600 million) in scholarships and financial aid to study in some of the top universities such as Yale, Brown, University College of London, University of Melbourne, University of Toronto and McGill.

Dr Mahmoud Eboo, the Aga Khan Development Network Representative to Canada, urged the students to use their knowledge and opportunity to mentor their communities.

https://www.nation.co.ke/news/education ... index.html

******
“We are becoming the world’s citizens!” – Johnson Monari, Kenya


Johnson Monari
Teacher of English Language & Literature and Theory of Knowledge
Aga Khan Academy Mombasa
Kenya

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEQmGAEZ4Tg

Just a year into his teaching profession, MIE Expert Johnson Monari was feeling bored. He had heard about the Microsoft Educator Community as an online educators’ platform, so he signed up with the intention of making strides toward transformative teaching.

“I started using online collaborative tools, and at first things did not work out,” Monari tells us. “At one time, my lesson was being observed by the vice principal and I wanted to really show that I was using technology. Students were working online and they unfortunately lacked netiquette and kept deleting their colleagues’ work. This made the class chaotic and the lesson fell apart.”

But that experience didn’t dissuade Monari from his dream of becoming a more innovative educator. Instead, he gradually learned how to make tasks more authentic and to create more meaningful and smaller task-oriented groups.


More...
http://dailyedventures.com/index.php/20 ... ari-kenya/
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The Aga Khan Academy Mombasa welcomed 22 new staff members from around the world to its community for the 2018 – 2019 academic year. Throughout the next few weeks, profiles of the new staff will be shown, introducing who they are and how they want to bring change to the Academy.

Alison Hampshire, Head of Academy:

Alison Hampshire was born in the United Kingdom and is the new Head of Academy. Alison has worked in various schools in the UK for 12 years, the Bishop Mackenzie School in Malawi for three years, the Nexus International School in Malaysia for six years and the South Island School in Hong Kong for eight years. With the new academic term, Alison said she hopes to have an open door policy with everyone.

“I am planning on listening to the views of as many people who are willing to share them in order to develop a better understanding of the strengths and areas of development of the Academy,” Alison said. “By the end of the year I hope that I will have supported the staff and students to work together on moving the Academy forward in its pursuit of excellence.”

Alison said the vision and mission of the Academy is a big part of her role that impacts her actions and decision-making.

More...

http://www.agakhanacademies.org/mombasa ... -hampshire
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From Khorog to Mombasa: The transformative power of education

For each of the past several years, a group of students about to enter secondary school have travelled from their home country of Tajikistan in Central Asia pursue their secondary education at the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa. At the Academy, these talented students have received an international standard of education they would not otherwise have been able to access, and their presence on campus has helped enhance the cultural and geographic diversity of the student body.

The first group of eight Tajik students graduated from the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa on 20 May 2017 this year, marking the conclusion of a six-year journey that began with a rigorous selection process in Tajikistan and ended in an emotional graduation ceremony. Aleesha Suleman spoke with two of these students, Nafisa Rahimjonova and Alisher Abdumamadov, about their experiences in Mombasa, the transformation they’ve undergone as a result of their unique educational opportunity and their future aspirations.

More...

http://www.agakhanacademies.org/general ... -education
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Prudence and William: Creators of destiny

Prudence Hainga from Kisumu and William Baiya from the Ganze area of rural Kenya both graduated from the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa in 2018. Both come from humble backgrounds and are the first in their families to be able to attend university abroad.

Referring to his vision for the Aga Khan Academies, His Highness the Aga Khan has explained: “I believe deeply that if developing countries are to be successful in their aim of becoming modern economies with living standards comparable to the West, we must focus not only on universal access to education for the majority or even all of the population. We must also make available educational opportunities at the top international standard for the exceptional students who stand out from the rest. The reality is that not all students are created equal intellectually. And exceptional individuals are as abundant in the developing world as anywhere else, from the cities and from the countryside. The pity is that too many in the developing world are never given the opportunity to have their minds challenged and stretched and developed to their full potential. Therefore we must strive to create institutions of learning that can help them maximise the potential to study, to learn and to function at the highest international intellectual levels.”

Paul Davis, the Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa, has enthusiastically led the Academy’s Talent Identification Programme for the past ten years. This programme identifies “creators of destiny” – students in Year 6 at government schools, from less-fortunate socio-economic and educational areas of Kenya, who are academically able and show leadership potential - and provides them with full financial support to attend the Academy. The Academy then guides and nurtures them throughout their secondary school years to become “creators of destiny” in their own lives and communities.

Photo and more...

https://www.akdn.org/our-stories/pruden ... rs-destiny
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Student at Aga Khan Academy in Kenya receives Diana Award

Mombasa, Kenya, 13 August 2019 - Ziyaan Virji, 17, a student at the Aga Khan Academy in Mombasa, Kenya, has received the Diana Award for going above and beyond his everyday life to create and sustain positive change. The Diana Award, which is given in memory of Princess Diana, is considered one of the highest accolades for social action or humanitarian efforts that a young person can receive.

Mr. Virji received the Award for launching Affordable and Accessible Sanitation for Women (AASW), which has helped almost 300 girls to acquire access to menstrual hygiene across six different countries. Countries includes Kenya, Tanzania, Pakistan, India, Nigeria and the UAE. In the next 12 months, AASW aims to continue expanding to provide over 1,000 girls with access to sanitation.

The story of the creation of AASW starts in 2017. While working on his ”Personal Project” – an in-depth research-based project – for his International Baccalaureate studies at the Academy, Ziyaan was surprised to learn that 500 million girls across the world do not have access to the necessary menstrual health resources they require.

In response, and to ensure the sustainability of his project beyond academics, he launched AASW. AASW is now a voluntary youth initiative that is comprised of high school students between the ages of 13-18. Run with support from staff at the Academy, AASW works with local organisations to produce and distribute reusable sanitary packages and equip girls with the necessary skills to give themselves and their communities access to menstrual hygiene.

AASW has been working in close collaboration with community partners Tunaweza Women with Disabilities to produce and distribute sanitary packages that are washable (therefore reusable), cost effective, environmentally friendly and embarrassment-free. These packages last for up to three years, are 100% biodegradable and cost between US$ 3 to US$ 5. Additionally, the pads are made from colourful African fabric (leso/kitenge) with a removable felt lining, so they do not look like a typical menstruation product. In the longer term, AASW aims to create entrepreneurial opportunities to empower girls to take themselves out of the vicious poverty and help the rest of their community to access menstrual hygiene.

Ziyaan believes that “period poverty” should be a fight that all of humanity takes on because “no one would be alive if not for the reproductive cycle”. The initiative also provides educational sessions for both boys and girls in order to break the social stigma surrounding menstruation. AASW has been hosting such events both at the Academy and at Unity School in Bombolulu, which is the Academy’s main partner school. AASW also hosts sessions between the women at Tunaweza and the girls at Unity School so they can learn how to stitch their own reusable pads. In this way, the girls can be empowered to support other young women and girls in the community, while also providing an entrepreneurial avenue.

Upon receiving the award, Ziyaan commented: “I am truly honoured to be a recipient of this prestigious International Award and to be recognised for my work in the legacy of Princess Diana. I would like to thank my family, my close friends, my mentors and most importantly my school for their continuous support and guidance in helping me find and achieve my purpose: to help give girls access to menstrual hygiene around the world.”

Ziyaan is a student of the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa, where he is now in his final year of the International Baccalaureate Diploma programme. In a previous interview, Ziyaan expressed that, “The Academy has taught me a lot about the whole process of service, especially the idea of the service cycle and thinking sustainably when reaching out to communities. This knowledge guided me in creating my unique model of approach”.

Pluralism, Ethics and Civil Society are some of the unique elements woven into the Academies’ curriculum, which is designed to develop students into the leaders of tomorrow. The hope is that students develop an attitude of global citizenship and a desire to improve the quality of life of people amongst whom they live.

https://www.akdn.org/press-release/stud ... iana-award
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BBC Africa profiles Aga Khan Academy Mombasa Student Ziyaan Virji

Did you know, over 500 million women worldwide do not have access to menstrual health resources? Aga Khan Academy Mombasa student Ziyaan Virji is working to help tackle this issue, and recently received The Diana Award for his efforts. Watch the BBCAfrica story on Ziyaan to learn more or read our article here

Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_cont ... 0ooGcby54Q
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Raphael Mwachiti: Academy student uses haptic technology to help the visually impaired

Raphael Mwachiti, a student at the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa, has won the Ryerson Sandbox Basecamp prize for his innovation to assist visually impaired people, awarding him a grant of $5,000 CAD and specialist professional advice to help advance his start-up.

Ryerson University, located in Toronto, Canada, runs an intensive boot camp for six weeks every year. Students are invited to submit their solutions to real life issues, and once they pass a rigorous application process, they are selected to attend the camp. Over the 6-week period, students attend intensive sessions to develop, market and accelerate their business ideas. Ryerson is providing 12 fellowships over three years for Academies students and faculty to attend the Sandbox Basecamp. The collaboration came about in 2017 following a visit by Mohamed Lachemi, president and vice-chancellor of Ryerson University, to the Aga Khan Academy Hyderabad. The 2019 Basecamp had 27 students, some working in pairs and others working alone. There were 19 projects in total with three winners.

More...

https://www.akdn.org/our-stories/raphae ... y-impaired
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Ham Serunjogi: Aga Khan Academy alum gains notice

Image

I was born and bred in Uganda and, after graduating from the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa, moved to Iowa to study at Grinnell College. It was at Grinnell College that I met my co-founder, Maijid Moujaled. Like myself, Maijid was an international student and was born in Ghana.

At college, I studied economics, while Maijid studied computer science. During my junior year of college, I worked at Facebook in New York as an intern and returned to Facebook at their Dublin headquarters full-time after I graduated from Grinnell in May 2016.

During the summer of 2016, right before I moved to Ireland to work for Facebook, Maijid and I went on a road trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles—stopping in Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz along the way. On the road, Maijid and I spent a lot of time talking about the cryptocurrency space and financial technology (or “fintech”), and listening to podcasts in the car.

Part of our excitement about cryptocurrencies and the fintech space came from our frustration over how hard and expensive it is to send money (especially across borders) from one person to another in Africa, given the many different currencies across the continent. This is how the idea of Chipper was born in our minds.

Chipper is somewhat analogous to Venmo in the United States, except that Chipper works across countries all over Africa, instead of just one country. What is most unique about Chipper is that instead of users using credit cards to credit and debit their Chipper wallets, as they do with Venmo, Chipper allows users to connect their Mobile Money accounts, the most common financial tool in sub-Saharan Africa.

Chipper has been selected by the Stellar Foundation, which develops a blockchain-based payments protocol, as a winner of their annual Stellar Build Competition. That award was a big step: in addition to being worth over $100,000 for developing the platform, it gained recognition for Chipper in a competitive global spotlight. Within less than a year Chipper has also raised an $8.4 million seed round by Deciens Capital, a venture capital firm.

With Chipper, we hope to reach a market that is large and very under-served. Chipper is ahead of most others in this space right now.

Chipper is available on Android, iOS, and the Web to people in a number of countries including Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Nigeria. More countries will be added in the near future.

Throughout this process, I continue to use and develop on the analytic and communications skills I first encountered at the Aga Khan Academy, along with a commitment to serving social needs. The foundation that I built for my career and myself with the Aga Khan Development Network still amazes me today.

https://www.akdn.org/our-stories/ham-se ... ins-notice
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