Category: Education

Ms Serraine Nyamori, Managing Director of Sustainability Africa, a Kenyan based non-governmental organisation has called on citizens within the African region to be advocates for sustainable development in Africa.

She said: ‘We need active global citizens that advocate for sustainable development in Africa. If we do not speak up, nothing will happen.

There is the need for Africans to equip themselves with knowledge, skills, and information,’

Ms Nyamori made the call at this year’s African Social Intervention Festival (AFROSIF 2023)

The event brought together social change makers across Africa under the theme, ‘Showcasing the voices behind the Africans putting smiles on the faces of the marginalized, underserved and underprivileged.’

It also provided a platform for leaders, policy makers, corporate bodies, professionals, civil society organizations, academics, and social entrepreneurs to explore, network and exchange ideas.

Ms Nyamori said there was the urgent need to have citizens who provided local innovative solutions to our global challenges and urged all Africans to get on board, saying, ‘be part of the solution, do something.’

Nii Commey, Convenor of AFROSIF, said Africa had a lot of potential that needed to be harnessed and AFROSIF sought to help connect various social entrepreneurs to network and harness their abilities to make the needed change.

He said Africans could work together to raise funds to sustain projects and programmes locally ‘if we harnessed our abilities.’

This year’s event was dedicated to celebrating the power of social interventions to promote healthy, equitable and prosperous societies.

In all, eleven speakers from Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, and South Sudan covered several topics from poverty, health, education, climate change, water, and sanitation, fundraising social enterprise, among others.

The annual event is organised by Handwriting Communications through its Social Interventional Network Africa (SINA), a pan-African network of individuals, corporate bodies, NGOs, donors, social entrepreneurs’ experts, and practitioners in the field of social interventions.

SINA aims to promote best practices and evidence-based interventions in Africa, share knowledge and facilitate collaboration and innovation.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Students from the Nyeri National Polytechnic, Dedan Kimathi University of Technology and the Karatina University have held vigils in their respective institutions to condole their comrades from the Pwani University mourning schoolmates who passed away in a grisly road accident.

In the three institutions, the student lit candles which had been arranged to spell out the name Pwani University surrounded by a heart. At the Karatina University, more than 200 students and academic staff participated in the night vigil.

Elsie Bartera, vice chairperson of the student governing council at Karatina University told KNA that she and her fellow student leaders and governing council had organised the candle-lighting ceremony to show solidarity with their fellow comrades.

‘It is a painful ordeal to lose a friend or a classmate so our fellow comrades need all the support to help them mourn. With the help of the staff and a turn up of almost three quarters of the student population we were able to have a candle-lighting ceremony at the premises of both the school of business and the main campus at around 7 pm yesterday,’ she said.

Speaking to KNA, Irene Kavale the student organization vice chairperson at the Dedan Kimathi University said that 500 turned up for the 6pm vigil.

‘As the DEKUT student council, we planned the vigil to show Pwani University students that we stand with them during this difficult time and we also mourn the loss of those who have passed on,’ she said.

Njoki Wanja, the Nyeri National Polytechnic Catholic Association Chairperson, said that at their school, the students’ welfare organization and council with support from the school’s administration also planned and held the event at the school’s main gate from 7pm and 8 pm with almost half the school’s population and a few staff in attendance.

The Pwani University bus was headed to Eldoret on Thursday, 30 March 2023 when the accident occurred. The bus collided with a 14-seater matatu at the Kayole Bridge on the Nairobi-Nakuru highway. The accident claimed 18 lives, 12 of who were from the Pwani University in Kilifi County.

Source: Kenya News Agency

The Back to Society organization in partnership with the Rotary Club has donated 250 pairs of shoes and toiletries to Mashimoni Squatters School, with an aim of giving back to the society on International Women’s Day.

Speaking at the event, Back to Society Board Director, Abu Bakari, said that the donations will go further in supporting and ensuring smooth learning of the students.

Bakari also stated that the Organization is set to plant two million trees which are still in the nursery in Baringo County, to preserve and conserve the environment.

At the same time, Wambui Nganga of the Rotary Club Nairobi, remarked that they would work hand in hand with other stakeholders to cater for the students’ needs, adding that it’s their first initiative and more is expected.

‘We had these donations from a friend in the Rotary Club and decided to share and celebrate on this essential day,’ stated Nganga.

On the other hand, Mashimoni Squatters Head Teacher, Vincent Wasera, voiced that some of the challenges the school faces are food, water and furniture at its forefront, adding that the school environs and geographical position does not do it any good.

Wasera also lamented that the School is in dire need of renovations as the road construction damaged some of its structures urging stakeholders involved to look into the matter.

In addition, he expressed that the Competence Based Curriculum (CBC) is facing a major challenge in terms of textbooks, adding that if the matter is looked upon it would go a long way in helping the student adapt.

Meanwhile, Rotary Club member, John Kamau, hinted that they would send three bags of maize in order to curb food shortage and offer free educational training and forums to students in the School.

Back to Society is a Non-Governmental Organization that deals with health, education and environmental issues, its currently operating in three counties namely of Nairobi, Baringo and Kakamega.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Two female students of the St. Ignatius of Loyola (Lassia Tuolu) Senior High School in the Wa West District lost their lives in a fatal accident at Gindabuor in the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District of the Savannah Region.

The accident, which occurred in the early hours of Thursday, April 6, claimed the lives of Hidaya Boressah Abudu, a first-year student, from Bole in the Savannah Region, and Cynthia Bong-Yinaa, a second-year student, from Konzokala in the Jirapa District, Upper West Region.

The victims, who were pronounced dead on arrival at the Upper West Regional Hospital, had since been buried.

Five other students were injured and are receiving treatment at the same hospital while one student is on admission at the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District Hospital.

Mr Banongwie Emmanuel, the Headmaster of the school, who confirmed this to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), said 14 students were on board a Sanyon minibus hired by the students to convey them to the southern sector.

The school was vacated on Thursday, and the students were travelling back home for the Easter break when the unfortunate happened.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Minister of Water and Energy Habtamu Itafa urged scholars and higher education institutions to intensify their scientific research activities with a view to ensuring Ethiopia’s right for the equitable utilization of Abay River.

The 8th workshop of water, hydro diplomacy and communication forum is underway in Addis Ababa today.

The day long forum was organized by Ministry Water and Energy in collaboration with the Addis Ababa Science and Technology University (ASTU)

The forum is underway under the theme “Strong Diplomacy and Communication for Sustainable Water Resources Development.”

The forum, that attracted officials of higher learning institutions, scholars and media practitioners, is expected to discuss on various technical papers prepared on issue of water governance.

In his opening remark, Minister of Water and Energy, Habtamu Itafa said such forum is a big platform to come together to exploit the country’s water resources and reverse distorted information about Ethiopia’s resources.

Despite large size of arable land, many areas in the country are suffering from drought; he indicated stating that “If we have such pool of experts, we have immense opportunity to bring the population out of poverty.”

Although Ethiopia has the full natural right to utilize its trans-boundary rivers for its development, it has been facing obstacles from some riparian countries.

Noting that water diplomacy efforts are underway through the foreign ministry of Ethiopia, higher education institutions and scholars are also highly expected to play their part with their research activities in order to make the ongoing diplomatic endeavors successful.

The experts need to work hard to conduct research and study on water and related issues to tell the truth to the rest of the world and ensure Ethiopia’s right for the equitable utilization of Abay River, the minister added.

ASTU President, Dereje Engida said in spite of the fact that Ethiopia is endowed with water resource, the socio economic benefit from this resource is minimal due to lack of scientific research.

To fill the gap in science and technology, the university has been working to be a center of excellence in technology, he stated.

Building Strategic Communication to tell GERD stories to the world is one of the research papers the participants are discussing at the forum.

During the occasion the first ever water, hydro diplomacy and communication forum bulletin prepared by four universities inaugurated.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Hundreds of residents from Sotik Sub-County, Bomet County on Thursday benefited from Huduma Kenya mobile outreach program known as Huduma Mashinani which is a citizen Centered mobile outreach program that was initiated to bring service close to the common citizen at the village level.

The services provided at the actual Huduma Center are also provided during this outreach program in a move that has worked to the advantage of the sick, elderly, and other minority members of the community.

Outreach programs dubbed Huduma Mashinani by the Huduma Centre in Sotik enabled residents to access services that would have otherwise forced them to travel far.

In the program, officials from government departments under the Huduma Centre go out into villages and other rural areas and offer services.

Launching the Huduma clinic initiative Sotik MP Francis Sigei affirmed that the move will help constituents with easy access to government service irrespective of location, health, gender, and age.

Sigei further said the move was largely welcomed by the local communities considering the large number of people who turned up to receive government service on its inauguration.

‘That way, we have been reaching more and more people who for one reason or the other are unable to go to Bomet town Huduma offices. They still get to access government services right here in their villages. The high number of people turning up here today means they are responding well to the initiative and that’s a plus for the government,’ Sigei said.

Among other services provided during the Huduma Mashinani programs include registration for the National Social Security Fund, replacement of NSSF card, National Hospital Insurance Fund, Kenya Revenue Authority, National Construction Authority, Civil Registration Department, Business Name Search and Registration, National Registration Bureau, Identification Card, and Birth certificate registration and replacement, Higher Education Loan Boards among others.

Source: Kenya News Agency

A family in Org’os, Kajiado Central Sub County is appealing to well-wishers to help them educate their deaf and dumb boy. The 16-year-old, Shadrack Saitore was schooling at Ilbissil school for the deaf and managed to perform well but has not been able to enroll at Machakos School for the deaf due to lack of school fees. ‘My son has now stayed at home for over a year due to lack of school fees. He is a bright and needy boy and he will do well in life once given an opportunity to advance his education. I am appealing to any well-wishers to help us school him,’ said Pushati ole Sonto, the boy’s father. Mzee Pushati adds that the drought which adversely affected Kajiado County has decimated all his livestock which was his only source of income thus he has no other means to educate his son. Saitore’s mother, Nareni Pushati, says that her son is an obedient child who loves God and she is certain that though he is abled differently, he will be able to change their family’s fortune once educated. ‘Though Saitore was born deaf and dumb, I noticed that he is bright and enrolled him in Ilbissil school for the deaf. The stigma from the community has never dampened his hopes of a better future and I would love to witness him succeed in life. Kindly help us educate him as we wait for better times,’ said Nareni Through sign language, Saitore expressed his wishes to further his education saying that he would like to change the situation of his elderly parents whose source of livelihood has been ravaged by the drought. Any well-wishers who would like to help can get in touch with the family’s representative Emmanuel Saimuta through mobile number 0721393959.

Source: Kenya News Agency