I joined Impact Network in June this year, and since then, I've had the privilege of engaging in both a management and teacher training program. In the short time I've been here, I've come to appreciate the profound impact of continuous professional development on our staff’s growth and the growth of the organization. I’m excited to share with you some of my takeaways from these trainings!
Read MoreYesterday, like much of America, we were swept up in the women’s singles tennis finals featuring Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka. In the end, Gauff went on to win an emotional victory – and at the age of 19, winning her first major singles title, she accepted her prize money and thanked Billie Jean King who was up on the stage with her.
Read MoreInadequate infrastructure is a common challenge for community schools in Zambia. The absence of enough learning space and sanitary facilities is a reality for many Impact Network schools as well. Throughout the year, we continuously assess all school structures to determine the priority needs. In addition to small maintenance works, we carry out larger structure repairs, primarily to roofs and sometimes to walls.
Read MoreA few days ago, India made history as the first country ever to land a mission to the southern polar region of the moon. I’ve watched the video about a half dozen times now and it seems like it’s a mix between a 1980s video game, and the most awe-inspiring video I’ve seen all summer (mostly the latter!).
Read MoreIn 2023, we started a new partnership with the Ministry of Education which includes the allocation of government Head Teachers to our Katete West schools. This is our first major undertaking of embedding government staff into our programing and model. These teachers have all been allocated classes for them to be teaching using the eSchool 360 framework. Pictured below is the Kalowe head teacher, Mr. Pious Kawinga Zulu, teaching Grade 3 using our activity-based lessons!
Read MoreI recently came across an event taking place in a few weeks that is set to be hosted by Mulenga Kapwepwe. Kapwepwe is the daughter of Zambia’s former vice-president, Simon Kapwepwe, who served from 1967 to 1970, only three years after Zambia declared its independence from the British.
Read MoreAs we closed the term, all Impact Network teachers held a special parent engagement day event at all the schools. The theme for the event was “Secondary School and Beyond! Planning for the Future.” As such, activities and discussion for this day encouraged parents and learners to discuss future goals for attending school and pursuing a career/livelihood. The parent engagement day was very interesting and characterized with lots of fun through role plays, songs, poems, and career dress up.
Read MoreI hope everyone had a restful weekend! While the time difference has made the schedule less than ideal, we’ve been enjoying the Women’s World Cup in our household all week long. In particular, we have been rooting for The Copper Queens – Zambia’s women’s team, who was the first landlocked African country to make it to the World Cup (men’s or women’s). They qualified by reaching the semi-finals of the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
Read MoreOn 23rd June, 2023 all Impact Network schools held a special day of activities related to upcycling. The upcycling day focused on using recyclable local materials to craft different items in line with topics studied in Expressive Arts, Social Studies, Technology Studies and Science. The day was characterized by lots of fun and learner-centered activities and gave an opportunity to all learners to express their knowledge and skills in different subjects with support from their respective class teachers.
Read MoreI recently got to watch a movie called Air, which details how the shoe company Nike struck a business deal with rookie Michael Jordan. It completely changed the industry and launched Air Jordans as a household name. At the time, Jordan was a rookie player and had already made a name for himself with his incredible slam dunks.
Read MoreLast month, we facilitated Financial Education Workshops with women in the Mtaya area, chosen for being one of the zones that is part of NetGirls Zambia. Over the course of 5 days, workshops were held in 6 different villages. In total, 347 women participated, many of them NetGirls players from both the junior and varsity leagues. This was all made possible through funding from Deloitte Zambia!
Read MoreAbout a decade ago, my family held a lip-sync battle during Thanksgiving. It was a fun little thing to create and perform, and it took me all of three seconds to decide who I wanted to dress up as. And earlier this year, the world said goodbye to the real her – Tina Turner.
Read MoreLately, my kids have been re-reading Wangari’s Trees of Peace – the inspiring story of how a woman transformed the environmental movement in Kenya and beyond.
Maathai was a political and environmental activist, who was educated in the US and in Nairobi, Kenya. She was the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree.
Everyone learns to read in school, right? Well, it’s actually more complicated than it seems. I have two kids, ages four and seven, and over the last few years, I have learned a lot about the process of learning how to read. In fact, there has been significant research, deemed the science of reading, that has codified how to teach kids to read.
Read MoreThis year marks the 30 year anniversary of one of the most promising Zambian football teams in history – and the crash that killed all but one of their players. The Chipolopolo had made headlines a few years earlier, beating Italy at the 1988 Olympic Games, followed by finishing third in the 1990 Africa Cup.
Read MoreIn Impact Network’s school support and child protection model, counselling is very important part of how we help learners and parents. Counselling provides learners with skills and methods necessary to manage their emotions; it helps them understand problems, develop necessary coping skills and make positive choices. Offering counselling sessions to learners can also help children and parents work through stressful underlying problems such as unplanned pregnancy, early marriage, abuse and other issues which effect their schooling.
Read MoreAs many of you know, this week was Teacher Appreciation Week! We have so much love for our teachers at Impact Network who care so deeply for our students and communities. Each of our 170 teachers works to help their students learn, grow, and thrive and we are grateful for their hard work and dedication. Zikomo Kwambiri!
Read MoreA few months ago, it would have been Paul Allen’s 70th Birthday; he passed away five years ago. Allen is best known for the role he had in helping to create Microsoft, but he was also the owner of two football teams, and the founder of the Allen Institute for Brain Science, among others. In remembering him, I want to look more closely at the
Read MoreAt Impact Network, equipment plays a vital role in the lesson delivery in schools. The use of tablets and projectors has been incorporated as one of the core elements of the eSchool 360 model across Impact Network schools.
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