In 1990, Nelson Mandela made a speech to a local high school in Boston and stated, “The youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow.” Looking now at Zambia in 2021, and thinking about the leadership of youth throughout the country and the role of younger voters in the recent election, I might amend this quote to read “The youth of today are the leaders of today.”
Read MoreOur Eco project is a six-month pilot project aimed at constructing latrine privacy walls and outdoor learning centres using recycled plastic bottles, glass bottles, sand bags, and tires. Under this project we have successfully completed the construction of five privacy walls for the latrines at Mkale and we are currently constructing an outdoor learning space at Mnyaula.
Read MoreI recently wrapped up watching the second season of Never Have I Ever, a coming-of-age drama co-created by Mindy Kaling – a smart, sweet, and honest depiction of an Indian American teen dealing with the aftermath of her father’s death. The show is loosely based on Mindy Kaling’s own childhood experience growing up in the northeast.
Read MoreAs everyone knows, our Chefs for Impact event this year is approaching, and it will look a little bit different than usual. In the midst of the planning over the last week, I came across a quote that resonated with me in particular. “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” –Albert Einstein.
Read MoreRecently, I read an interesting look back at a leader in the architectural world, Zaha Hadid. Hadid is best known for her “neo-futuristic” buildings, and became a decorated architect over the last 15 years. She was the first woman to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize
Read MoreThis week, I am bringing you a profile from one of our literacy teachers at Mnyaula Primary School. Earlier this year, we wrote about an innovative new phonics project we piloted at two of our schools. Today, I’d like you to meet Changwe Banda!
Read MoreThis week we have re-opened our classroom doors to all students and grade levels after nearly 10 weeks of closure. With this second COVID shutdowns now behind us, I have been reflecting on how different the two events and our responses have been.
Read MoreWell, helped enormously by the time difference, I was able to stay up late tonight and watch on Facebook Live as the Electoral Commission of Zambia announced the final constituencies and tallies for the Presidential election held on Thursday, August 12th.
Read MoreOur upcycling project is aimed at creating something new and useful from discarded materials by repairing, refurbishing or repurposing them. The objective of this project is to find new ways to creatively re-use and repurpose materials that we would otherwise be dispose of in rubbish pits that are typically burned.
Read MoreSeven years ago this month, Sydney Siame became the first Zambian to win a gold medal at the 100m sprint during the Youth Olympic Games in China. With a time of just 10.56 seconds, at 16 years old, he finished just one hundredth of a second ahead of the second place winner – proving just how tight this race was!
Read MoreThe Washington Post recently had this article showcasing the women athletes at the Olympics this year. For me, it was an incredible reminder of the ways in which our world has grown to include athletes who are mothers – and the ways it hasn’t.
Read MoreI hope folks are staying cool (in the US!) and warm (in Zambia!). Last week, Zaila Avant-garde became the first African American to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee in its 100-year history.
Read MoreWhile this year’s Olympics certainly look very different, they will be upon us in just two weeks. Pretty much every time I think of the Olympics, I remember the story about a town called Bekoji, in Ethiopia. Bekoji has been the home of seven Olympic medal-winning runners.* Among them they have won SIXTEEN Olympic medals, 10 of them gold. To help you realize how remarkable that is – this small town of 17,000 people has brought in more gold medals than India (a population of 1.2 billion) has won in all of the summer categories put together.
Read MoreI recently re-watched a TED talk by a young entrepreneur, Maya Penn. Penn is a 21-year-old “entrepreneur, philanthropist, designer, artist, animator, illustrator, and writer.” At age 4, her father had shown her how to take a computer apart, and put it back together. At age 8, she started a company called Maya’s Ideas, an eco-friendly, environmentally sustainable, fashionable accessories and clothing line.
Read MoreThis week, Zambia said goodbye to its first president, Kenneth Kaunda. On October 24th, 1964, the Zambia Independence Act of 1964 went into effect, granting independence to Zambia (formerly Northern Rhodesia), and Kaunda was elected soon after.
Read MoreThis weekend I attended a celebration for my 5-year-old who is finishing up her years at a Montessori program before heading to kindergarten next year. It made me reflect on where we were a year ago and how far we have come thanks to the work of so many teachers, school staff and parents around the world.
Read MoreThis weekend, I read my kids a short story about Oprah Winfrey – one that taught me more about the woman behind the legendary television producer and host. I grew up with The Oprah Winfrey Show – broadcast from Chicago, and the highest-rated television show of its kind.
Read MoreLast week, famed author and illustrator, Eric Carle, died in his studio at the age of 91. Carle is most known for his legendary children’s books, including The Very Hungry Caterpillar which has sold more than 55 million copies to date. I have read his books countless times to my own children; Carle had a way of creating simple, memorable stories about living things, and capturing their beauty with his colorful illustrations.
Read MoreA few years ago, I shared a story about a remarkable then third-grader – Tanitoluwa Adewumi. At the time, Adewumi was an 8-year-old, who arrived to New York City, after fleeing Nigeria. He had just won his age group at the New York State chess championship. His story is one of those ones that gets highlighted in press because he has succeeded against all odds.
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