The Mandela Washington Fellowship is a flagship program of the U.S. department of state to support young African leaders. The program includes Entrepreneurship, and Public Administration tracks, the Staley School hosts a Civic Leadership Institute.
The Fellows come from diverse backgrounds and are doing incredible work to impact lives and transform their communities. In this series, former Fellow and now Staley School graduate research assistant, Chibuzor Azubuike, reflects on 2022 Fellows that share common work in education – a critical area of focus for Sub-Saharan Africa.
According to the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), over one-fifth of African children between the ages of 6 and 11 are not in school, while nearly 60% of youth between the ages of 15 and 17 are not enrolled. (Kaledzi 2022) It is this challenge that Sustainable Development Goal 4 addresses, which is quality education.
Educators as Fellows
In this vein, Jonathan Maka from Kinshasa, DRC has been teaching for seven years now, and he is currently working at the Academy of Science and Technology as an English teacher and coach. He spends time coaching and mentoring the youth in his community, especially those who are homeless or those whose families are unable to afford quality education. So far, he has motivated students who have dropped out of school to resume their education He is involved in an NGO named Silent Cry that supports orphans, girls especially, in coaching, and educational interventions focused on skill development including English language, sewing, arts, crafts, sports, and skill development to contribute to their future capacity for finding job opportunities.
Maka has been engaged throughout the Mandela Washington Fellowship experience, he stated, “The Mandela Washington Fellowship has influenced the way I approach my work in providing me with proper leadership skills and also in teaching me that I have to work on statistics and not only having a general view of the challenge that my community is facing.” Continue reading “Mandela Washington Fellows’ reflections: Young African leaders driving change via education “
Strengths Peer Coaches work one-on-one (both in person and via Zoom) with students to support them in the development of their Clifton Strengths towards personal and academic success. Peer Coaches help students dive deeper into their Strengths, find connections between the Strengths and everyday activities, work through challenges, and develop ways to increase their engagement and well-being.