Capacitando adolescentes para evitar o HIV e viver positivamente neste Dia Mundial da Aids

dezembro 2, 2013

3 minutos de leitura

As meninas adolescentes permanecem especialmente vulneráveis a contrair o HIV. Dia Mundial da Aids 2013 calls attention to the importance of improving teens' access to prevention. — As meninas adolescentes permanecem especialmente vulneráveis a contrair o HIV. Dia Mundial da Aids 2013 chama a atenção para a importância de melhorar os adolescentes’ acesso à prevenção.

Não podemos tratar o caminho para fora da epidemia de HIV/AIDS, Apesar do advento de drogas críticas que salvam vidas. Devemos, Como os especialistas em HIV/AIDS observam, também “desligue a torneira” de novas infecções, particularmente entre os mais vulneráveis.

Por esta razão, Creative Associates International recebe o 2013 Foco do Dia Mundial da Aids de melhorar o acesso dos adolescentes à prevenção do HIV (e para serviços de tratamento e assistência.) Adolescentes entre as idades de 10 e 19 permanecer entre os grupos mais em risco para contrair o HIV, particularmente na África Subsaariana.

Isso acontece por muitos motivos: As clínicas não oferecem serviços de juventude ou confidenciais, Adolescentes vivem longe dos pontos de acesso à saúde, A violência sexual tem como alvo meninas e mulheres. Além disso, As meninas adolescentes geralmente abandonam a escola mais cedo e enfrentam vulnerabilidades econômicas, aumentando seu risco. A lista continua.

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Know Your Epidemic – Know Your Response! Creative’s holistic and localized approach to HIV in Namibia

dezembro 2, 2013

3 minutos de leitura

Quase 20 percent of Namibian adults are HIV positive. The country is working on increasing access to prevention and care, and reducing stigma. — Quase 20 percent of Namibian adults are HIV positive. The country is working on reducing stigma and raising awareness through education.

Eleven-year-old Hatani knows that when it comes to HIV, some behaviors are dangerous, and others are perfectly fine. But that doesn’t mean he feels comfortable around people living with the disease.

“I know sharing food with HIV positive people is okay, I cannot get infected,” Hatani says, “but still, I am very afraid to do so.”

This honest young boy’s HIV awareness matches that of many in Namibia, a Sub-Saharan country of 2 million people where just about one out of every five adults are HIV positive.

Namibia has made huge strides with respect to raising awareness and increasing knowledge about HIV at all levels of society. Yet stigmatization of HIV positive people has remained a challenge: It results in a lack of physical and emotional care, leads people to avoid getting treatment, and even contributes to new HIV infections.

HIV stigmatization in Namibia still has deep-seated cultural, social and spiritual roots. Portanto, addressing it has to go beyond teaching facts about HIV at schools. Pais, professores, traditional leaders and clergy all have to be involved, schools need to become open, tolerant and ‘HIV friendly’ places of learning for both students and teachers, and workplace wellness programs that promote treatment and care need to be implemented.

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Creating a safe space on Universal Children’s Day

novembro 20, 2013

5 minutos de leitura

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Creating a safe space on Universal Children’s Day

By Jennifer Brookland and Maggie Farrand

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The smiling face of a young child in Honduras at one of Creative’s Outreach Centers. The Centers reduce local crime while providing youth with a safe space to gather and receive training. © David Escobar.

There is energy and hope in the smiles of children – even when they live amidst insecurity and violence. Too often, kids are vulnerable to exploitation, at risk of dropping out of school and made to feel small.

Creative Associates International is dedicated to extending access to education for these children. Education is even more important and needed in areas of conflict; that is where Creative specializes, ensuring children have the opportunities they deserve.

Creative’s successful post-conflict education work began in 1989 na América Central, where it used education to complement disarmament, demobilization and repatriation of youth combatants and their families into society.

Desde então, it has implemented critical education interventions in more than 26 conflito, post-conflict and crisis-affected countries—including Afghanistan, Iraque, Uganda, Sudão do Sul, Honduras and Yemen. Hoje, Creative has ongoing education projects in nine countries.

See how Creative’s current projects in Yemen, América Central, Nigeria and Jordan are carving out safe spaces for kids >

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Banco de dados de professores pioneiro, popular na Nigéria

novembro 11, 2013

2 minutos de leitura

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Banco de dados de professores pioneiro, popular na Nigéria

Por Jossey Ogbuanoh e Jennifer Brookland

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Presidente da SUBEB, Alhaji Abdullahi Dabo (centro) e membros do conselho ouvem o chefe do partido, Ayo Oladini (esquerda) apresentar as realizações do projeto NEI durante uma visita de cortesia. Crédito da foto: Jossey Ogbuanoh

A primeira base de dados de gestão de professores deste tipo já é muito procurada entre os gabinetes governamentais na Nigéria.

O Sistema de Informação de Gestão de Professores (TMIS) é uma ferramenta de recursos humanos que ajuda os administradores escolares a rastrear as postagens de cada professor, qualificações, treinamento, período de férias, ação disciplinar, biodados e história pessoal.

Mais do que uma ferramenta de rastreamento, O TMIS também será útil na tomada de decisões, de acordo com funcionários do governo do Conselho Estadual de Educação Básica Universal (SUBBE).

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Program to support elections, political processes in South Sudan

novembro 4, 2013

2 minutos de leitura

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Program to support elections, political processes in South Sudan

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novembro. 5, 2013 – A new program will continue to build democratic governance in South Sudan through electoral training and boosting civil society’s role, Creative Associates International anunciou hoje.

Financiado pela Agência dos Estados Unidos para o Desenvolvimento Internacional, the five-year “Systems to Uphold the Credibility and Constitutionality of Elections in South Sudan” (SUCCESS) program will push the first post-independence elections in 2015 and the implementation of the new Constitution to create more robust and mature democratic systems.

“At this pivotal moment in South Sudan’s history, we are honored to be part of another landmark election in the country,”diz M.. Charito Kruvant, Presidente e CEO da Creative. “The SUCCESS program will enable South Sudanese citizens to build a more effective and responsive government.”

The implementers, led by Democracy International, also include the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa, the Public International Law and Policy Group and the State University of New York Center for International Development.

Supporting peace and stability

The SUCCESS program takes a multifaceted approach that will include work with electoral authorities, political parties and national and sub-national level governance institutions, as well as civil society organizations.

Creative will support South Sudan’s National Election Commission (NEC) by providing technical assistance on all aspects of elections like electoral dispute resolution processes, management training workshops, and study tours and exchanges. Working with Democracy International, Creative will also assist the NEC in developing a conflict mitigation plan that includes an electoral security framework and conflict monitoring methodologies.

“Creative’s expertise in election management, mitigação de conflitos, and civil society development prepares us well for the challenges in South Sudan,” says Jeffrey Carlson, Director of Creative’s Electoral Education and Integrity Practice Area. “We’re looking forward to working with the South Sudanese on this important program.”

Building on previous experience

Creative is a recognized thought leader and practitioner in conflict prevention and management – including elections. Its widely acclaimed Best Practices in Electoral Security: A Guide for Democracy, Human Rights and Governance Programming helps stakeholders cross-reference the country context with best practices used in similar environments.

Unrelated to elections, Creative recently completed an education program in South Sudan that improved the lives of nearly 93,000 crianças. The program ended in September.[/vc_column_text][/vc_coluna][largura da coluna_vc=”1/12″][/vc_coluna][largura da coluna_vc=”1/4″][vc_widget_sidebar barra lateral_id=”barra lateral primária”][/vc_coluna][/vc_row]

Battling the Sharks at the mEducation Alliance Symposium

outubro 25, 2013

3 minutos de leitura

The idea for CreativeU, a global e-learning platform, was the audience favorite at the mEducation Alliance Symposium.

Gone are the days when devices such as mobile phones and tablets were seen as just a distraction in the classroom or an out-of-reach tool. Throughout the world today, educators are exploring how mobile devices can be best utilized to support learning.

Mobile devices in the classroom provide teachers with a world of resources and support, and allow for student exploration and self-paced learning. It is around this theme that the USAID-funded Mobiles for Education (mEducation) Alliance convened its third annual International Symposium on Oct. 15 e 16.

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Professores de treinamento compensam os alunos no norte da Nigéria

outubro 4, 2013

4 minutos de leitura

Nigéria — Malam Tanko aborda seus alunos, com os pais e outros professores presentes. Foto de: Jossey Ogbuanoh

Tanko Mohammed tem orgulho de ser professor em uma pequena escola em Kyata, Uma vila de agricultores camponeses nos arredores de uma cidade sonolenta na margem oeste do estado de Bauchi, Nigéria. Ele começou sua carreira em 1980, E hoje Malam Tanko ensina alfabetização e matemática a 70 quinto e sexto alunos da Escola Primária Kyata Islamiyya.

“Quando as crianças entendem minhas lições, Estou satisfeito,"Tanko diz noite.
No Dia Mundial dos Professores, Creative Associates International celebra educadores como Malam Tanko, quem faz tudo o que pode para que seus alunos possam aprender e progredir. Ele se orgulha quando eles conseguem marcar bem o suficiente para entrar no sistema escolar formal da Nigéria.

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Nigéria: Programa educacional elogiado pelos EUA. Embaixador

outubro 2, 2013

3 minutos de leitura

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Nigéria: Programa educacional elogiado pelos EUA. Embaixador

Por Caiti Goodman

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Embaixador Brennan com a Diretora da ANFEA Hajiya Yelwa Tafawa Balewa e Malam Isa Modibbo proprietário da Escola Alcorânica Malam Isa Modibbo. Atrás deles estão os facilitadores de alfabetização e numeramento da escola. FOTO: Jossey Ogbuanoh

Na Nigéria, menos que 10 percentagem de crianças continua no ensino secundário. Os EUA. O Embaixador na Nigéria teve a oportunidade de visitar crianças que estão a inverter a tendência.

“Fico muito feliz em ver você na escola, estudo,” O Embaixador Brennan disse aos estudantes durante sua visita a uma escola no estado de Bauchi. “Isso lhe dará uma oportunidade maravilhosa.”

O Embaixador Brennan visitou escolas que oferecem formação acadêmica e profissional aprimorada, especialmente meninas e estudantes de escolas corânicas, nos estados de Bauchi e Sokoto que são apoiados pela Iniciativa de Educação do Norte da Nigéria (NO.)

O programa de quatro anos - financiado pelos EUA. Agência para o Desenvolvimento Internacional (USAID) e implementado pela Creative Associates International, o governo nigeriano, e um consórcio de parceiros locais e internacionais — reforça a formação de professores e apoia o acesso de crianças vulneráveis à educação básica nos dois estados.

NEI também oferece equipamentos de qualificação profissional, permitindo que os alunos aprendam ofícios como alfaiataria e carpintaria.

Ao adotar uma abordagem holística da educação, NEI atende às necessidades acadêmicas, mas utiliza as escolas como plataformas para garantir que até as crianças mais vulneráveis tenham acesso à saúde, atividades de igualdade de género e económica.

Agosto do Embaixador Brennan 2013 a visita incluiu uma parada na Escola Alcorânica Isah Modibbo, onde o NEI chega 200 crianças em risco com um curso de educação básica de nove meses que até agora permitiu 13 deles para se integrarem em escolas oficiais.

Em muitas escolas corânicas no norte da Nigéria, as crianças seguem estudos islâmicos e recitação do Alcorão em vez de um currículo acadêmico.

Através do NEI, os facilitadores são treinados para gerir a aprendizagem não formal e crianças vulneráveis, e fornecer aconselhamento psicossocial, almoços diários e instrução suplementar em alfabetização, numeramento e habilidades para a vida.

O programa também distribui material escolar, como livros didáticos, uniformes e giz de cera, para crianças que de outra forma não poderiam pagar por eles.

Ao visitar centros de formação profissional e aulas de alfabetização, A Embaixadora Brennan passou algum tempo com estudantes do sexo feminino com idades 12 para 17 enquanto aprendiam a fazer pastelaria, cabeleireiro, tricô e costura.

Ele aplaudiu os sinais visíveis de melhoria na educação das meninas e presenteou cada uma delas com presentes, como mochilas escolares e garrafas de água..

Diretor da Agência de Educação Não Formal e de Adultos da Bauchi, Hajiya Yelwa Clap Balewa, expressou apreço pela forma como o NEI melhorou a capacidade do estado de administrar escolas.

Uma atividade fundamental é o trabalho da NEI com o estado para coletar dados de sala de aula e usá-los para elaborar planos sustentáveis para aumentar as matrículas., alfabetização e eficácia do professor.

Junto com líderes comunitários e religiosos, representantes da comunidade e funcionários do NEI, o Embaixador também se reuniu com altos funcionários do governo do Conselho Estadual de Educação Básica Universal, que forneceu apoio como a construção de salas de aula, fornecendo materiais instrucionais e implantando um facilitador para apoiar o ensino de alfabetização e numeramento na escola.

Quando sua visita chegou ao fim, O Embaixador Brennan foi recebido pelo Emir de Dass, Alhaji Usman Bilyaminu Othman e recebeu uma cerimônia formal de chefia em agradecimento aos EUA. assistência governamental na saúde, agricultura e educação no estado de Bauchi.

“Na área da educação, A NEI tem feito muito na formação e reciclagem dos nossos funcionários e professores e na educação das raparigas,” disse o Emir de Dass.

O Embaixador Brennan foi “coroado” com um cocar tradicional e recebeu o título oficial de “Dan Chokalin de Dass:”a colher que alimenta Dass.

“Isso é realmente maravilhoso,"ele disse. “Eu me sinto tão bem, Posso não ir embora.[/vc_column_text][/vc_coluna][largura da coluna_vc=”1/12″][/vc_coluna][largura da coluna_vc=”1/4″][vc_widget_sidebar barra lateral_id=”barra lateral primária”][/vc_coluna][/vc_row]

Immigrant stories: For the love of two countries

Setembro 24, 2013

5 minutos de leitura

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Immigrant stories: For the love of two countries

Por Jennifer Brookland

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For someone who grew up admiring the gold-brushed waters of Egyptian beaches and the magnificent ruins of Petra and Jerash, Ramia Badri’s first glimpse of America must have been a little underwhelming.

Blame it on the art supplies.

When Ramia got off the plane at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, transportation authorities seized her suitcase full of paints and pots, oils and chalks that had set the scanner screaming. “You sit here. We’ll get back to you,” an officer told her.

Four silent hours later, after wondering if she would be allowed into the country at all, Ramia had missed her connection, and was alone at night in a new country.

But Ramia lets few things faze her. She got into a cab and told the driver to take her to her final destination of Muncie, Indiana. “You know you’re crazy, certo?” the driver asked. She didn’t know it was a four hour drive from Chicago.

Past the dark highways and cornfields of the Midwest, Ramia finally arrived to start the next chapter of her life in a dorm room of Ball State University. She planned on completing a master’s degree and taking a break from the horrible violence of wartime Iraq. It was not until years later Ramia realized she had made America her home.

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Libyan teacher brings women into democratic process

Setembro 16, 2013

3 minutos de leitura

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Libyan teacher brings women into democratic process

Por Maggie Farrand

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Hoda's new center gave women a chance to gather, exchange ideas and learn more about Libya's political system. — Hoda’s new center gave women a chance to gather, exchange ideas and learn more about Libya’s political system.

Before February 2011, Hoda Mohamed El-Suqoori never would have thought she would become a political activist or start her own organization. She was just a high-school teacher in Ajdabya, a small town on the Libyan coast.

When the Arab Spring heated up in this North African country, she knew she needed to do more. The subsequent revolution gave her the opportunity.

Hoda formed the National Organization to Counter Tribal and Regional Intolerance, an organization seeking to counter biases and encourage a more united and patriotic Libyan populace.

The organization’s first initiative: provide more opportunities for women to participate in regional and national politics.

Through a small grant from Creative Associates International’s Community Driven Grants Program (CDGP), Hoda opened a women’s center in her town of Ajdabya in northeastern Libya. CDGP is funded by the Middle East Partnership Initiative of the US State Department.

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Da aula para a comunidade, um professor aprende a curar

Setembro 6, 2013

3 minutos de leitura

Teacher Dorina Joseph learned to help students with psychosocial problems during HEAR training. She now runs a volunteer school and community group.

In the blazing days of South Sudan’s hot season, families retreat for naps in their rakubas, outdoor structures used for relaxing in the shade. But Dorina Joseph, the only teacher in the village of Aweil Jedid, has put hers to another use: providing free education to children who cannot afford official school fees.

“Most of the time, students are just at home, sad and isolated from their fellow students who are able to attend the formal school,” says Dorina. “If we do not help now, these kids will end up being street children.”

After a long day teaching at Lokoloko Primary School, Dorina now returns to eager pupils who have camped out at her home waiting for her to teach them, também.

She did not always have such a positive relationship with young students. In the schoolroom, she used to beat them with a cane when they misbehaved. She found them rude when they were easily distracted, fell asleep, or just sat there crying.

It wasn’t until Dorina received training from USAID’s Health, Educação e Reconciliação (OUVIR) Project that she recognized these students were not rude, but traumatized by violence and war. The training taught her to identify children with psychosocial issues and find ways to deal with them other than corporal punishment.

As her teaching style changed, she noticed students becoming friendlier and seeking her out to discuss the issues affecting them. She began to listen more, and judge less. “I felt like a whole new teacher,” Dorina says.

The training also opened her eyes to the scope of the problem in Aweil Jedid—a village largely populated by destitute returnees from Sudan. Plenty of parents also needed psychosocial support, and were especially stressed over their inability to pay their children’s 70 South Sudanese pound ($25) school fees.

Dorina and her husband, Evaristo Khamis, set out to address both problems at once. They transformed their rakuba into a makeshift classroom, with a few salvaged benches and a blackboard hung on a pole. Então, using the lessons from the HEAR training, the couple started a community psychosocial group to help its members cope with their issues, and improve their economic standing.

Com 45 membros, the group is now learning to sew, bake and grow vegetables in the hopes of starting small businesses that will generate income.

“We are looking towards the bright future of our children,” says group member Christina Joseph. “When we raise the school fees, they will be better than us in the future.”

State Minister of Education, Dr.. Adil Athenesio, said he was previously skeptical of short trainings provided by international organizations, but that HEAR had changed his mind.

“I have been proved wrong with the quality of trainings that the HEAR project carried out,” he said as he gave Dorina a standing ovation at the project’s closing event. “The results have been so tangible within a short time.”

Alfabetização significa futuro melhor para estudante nigeriano

Setembro 3, 2013

3 minutos de leitura

Por Jennifer Brookland

Fourteen year-old Ammar Muhammad was not a boy who was destined for success. The son of nomadic parents in Eastern Nigeria, he was enrolled at an Almajiri school—an informal center where boys memorize the Qur’an and learn self-discipline but are also turned out to beg on the streets and live in deplorable conditions. With their limited literacy and lack of broad-based academic knowledge, Almajiri boys are rarely able to transition into formal schools.

But when Ammar’s school in Bauchi State was selected by the USAID-Nigeria Northern Education Initiative (NO) as one of the region’s 40 demonstration schools, Ammar was exposed to a whole new way of learning—and a way out.

NEI is a four-year project implemented by a consortium of Nigerian and international partners and the Government of Nigeria that enables vulnerable children to access basic education, provides teacher education and training and strengthens state-level systems. It has developed activity-based training manuals in core subjects including literacy, and trained 3,568 teachers on how best to teach them.

The project also encouraged the participating Almajiri schools to enrich their curricula with core basic education subjects like literacy and numeracy, and to periodically examine their pupils and graduate them into formal schools.

“(Ammar) was always in class reading his primers,” says Malam Salmanu Shehu, his literacy and numeracy tutor at Tsangaya Alaramma Magayaki. “He was always curious, reading ahead of the topics for the week.”

When Ammar’s school allowed him to take the examinations that would dictate his acceptance into a formal primary school, his newfound literacy and math skills set him apart. Ammar was admitted to a formal primary school, where teachers were stunned to learn of his background.

“I was surprised to learn that he was from an Almajiri escola,” said Malam Usman Khalifa, head teacher at Central Primary School. “He performed better than other pupils that had spent six years in school and took first position in his class examination.”

He performed so well during his three years at the primary school that Ammar earned a seat at the 2012 Bauchi State Special Secondary Schools Examination—the entrance exam for schools for gifted students. Ammar was one of 40 pupils out of more than 250 from his local area who passed the exams and aptitude test. He was the only one with a non-formal school background.

Thanks to his encounter two years ago with NEI’s basic literacy program, Ammar is getting the education that he was never fated to have. Hoje, after three months at the Special Science Secondary School, the former Almajiri has adapted to boarding school life and is doing well academically, with continuous assessment scores of around 85 por cento.

Ammar’s next goal is to graduate with flying colors and earn a university admission.

“I want to be a doctor, to help my people,”ele diz.

His dream of continuing his education may soon become reality: The school’s management has taken note of its first student from an informal setting, and is working to secure him a scholarship to see him through secondary school. If that comes through, Ammar’s success in formal school will be an inspiration to other pupils and teachers at Almajiri schools across the state, and an example of the dreams that can be realized when schools focus on teaching literacy.