Towards the end of each year, we ask employees to give us feedback on a number of items related to their work life to measure their happiness, motivation, and support received. Our aim of collecting this information is to promote and ensure Impact employees' overall wellbeing. Then, at the start of each new year, the management team reviews and discusses the responses. We pull out the most positive areas where we have done well and the least positive areas, where there is an opportunity to improve.

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This year marks a decade since the world lost American author and poet, Maya Angelou. Active in the civil rights movement, Angelou worked with both Martin Luther King, Jr and Malcolm X, and was one of the first African American women to write about her personal life. Before becoming an author, she held various jobs – a cook, dancer, actress, educator, a journalist in Egypt and Ghana.

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This week, the world lost a huge personality born not too far from where I live in Queens. Iris Apfel – the businesswoman, fashion icon, and actress – died at the age of 102 in Florida. She was born in 1921 to Jewish parents; her mom owned a fashion boutique and her father ran a glass business. She would ride the subway into Manhattan, and explored Greenwich Village, shopping at antique stores. She studied art history at New York University and the University of Wisconsin.

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Lately, I have been reminiscing a little about my early travels to South Africa with an old friend I met while there. It’s a very long story how, but a few years later, we happened to find ourselves watching Angelique Kidjo on stage.

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This week has been a particularly exciting week in the world of women’s basketball. Caitlin Clark became the NCAA women’s leading scorer with her signature long-range logo three-pointer (she’s got 100 more to beat the men’s record holder, which she’s on track to do within the next three games). Last night, it was an absolute delight to see NY Liberty player Sabrina Ionescu compete against Steph Curry in the three-point competition during the NBA All Star Weekend (while Ionescu lost, she tied with the actual winner from the three-point contest, Damian Lillard). And, our family’s favorite player, Abbey Hsu, became Columbia University’s leading scorer of all-time – men’s or women’s.

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I’m returning from a restorative week at the Global Schools Forum Annual Meeting in Accra, Ghana. It was wonderful to be in community with school leaders from Columbia to India, early childhood through secondary school, all with the aim of improving the lives of school children across the globe. Being surrounded by such rich discussions on foundational skills reminded me of a story I once read about a 15th century Korean monarch, known as Sejong the Great. I know a connection seems unlikely, but bear with me ;)

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As I’m in Ghana this week, I thought it only fitting to highlight Mercy Oduyoye, a renowned Ghanaian theologian known for her work to empower African women. Oduyoye was born in 1934 on a cocoa farm, the oldest of nine, and the daughter of an ordained Minister, Charles Kwaw Yamoah and an activist for women, Mercy Yaa Dakwaa Yamoah.

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Every year in January Impact Network conducts a teacher training which brings together teachers from all Impact Network schools. This multi-day training presents an opportunity for the organization orient teachers on different topics from all departments, academics, operations, child protection and HR. This year, 150 teachers attended the teacher training in Sinda from the 2nd to the 5th of January.

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For the last several years, Impact Network has been conducting menstrual health and hygiene training for grade 5, 6 and 7 female pupils in our Katete schools. This year, we were excited to extend this program to 30 schools across all of four of the districts we work in. The main aim of this training was to create awareness among the girls about menstruation, which is a normal process of a girl’s life and should not attract feelings of shame.

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In 2017, Impact Network first engaged the parents in various communities where DEBS allocated us schools to partner with. This was part of our Expansion project, that we began in partnership with American Institutes for Research. Since 2018, Impact Network has worked and supported two grades in the 30 schools, which are spread across Sinda, Katete, Petauke, and Lusangazi Districts. Impact Network has followed the same 2 cohort of students from grade 1, meaning that in2023, we supported grade 6 and grade 7 learners. This year, we are looking forward to supporting the grade 7 students in their final primary school year in 2024!

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Over the past few years, we have been piloting and perfecting our Read Smart Cinyanja program – our literacy intervention for early grade reading based on the use of phonetic charts. This week, our email comes from Timothy Phiri, a Curriculum Coordinator, reflecting back on our literacy fair competition at the end of 2023.

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I hope everyone is doing well. We wrapped up the 2023 school year across all of our schools last week – and what a year it has been! Today, while traveling up to Katete, I spent some time reflecting on everything we have been able to accomplish this school year. I am, as always, grateful to our impressive team who have been able to accomplish so much in a year not without its challenges.

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I recently read an article about a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who was now running for president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. There’s a slew of other candidates, but this one stuck in my mind and I went back to read about his 2018 prize this weekend.

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Each term, Impact Network holds a special day for Impact learners. In term 3 this year, the theme was ‘Go Green!’ an environmentally focused day that moved the classroom outside. On Go Green day, students learn about the benefits of plants and the important role they play. To enhance understanding, learners explore soil profiles, identify flowering and non-flowering plants, make natural art like leave-printing, and plant trees. Each grade had a different lesson with hands-on activities that tied to the various subject areas – creative and technology studies, science, social studies and expressive art.

 

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Last month, four kids in my son’s class dressed up in the exact same costume for Halloween – some donning his signature blue and white stripes, and some donning a that unique pink Inter Miami jersey. It’s one that I might not have recognized had soccer/football not become increasingly more popular in the US (we are still catching up with the rest of the world!). Lionel Messi is making waves again this year – six months after winning the World Cup for Argentina, he left the elite leagues to play for Miami under the US’s Major League Soccer.

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The NetGirls season recently ended for 2023 and what a great season it was! 100 teams, comprised of approximately 1,500 girls and young women from more than 20 villages in Katete participated in this year’s league. The NetGirls season is the most exciting season for girls and young women in Katete because they get to participate in a rural netball league. The project focuses on promoting skills development, promoting interactions, building self-esteem, educating and providing mentorship, and breaking gender stereotypes in adolescent girls and young women through the sport of netball!

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Hope everyone had a restorative weekend. First, a very huge thank you and congratulations to our Impact Network Race for Impact Marathon Runners – Alex Mayer, Caroline Pidgeon, Christina St. John, Katie Palmer, Laura Smith and my very own dad, Dilip Patel! Together they raised over $35K for Impact Network programs in Zambia.

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In June, Impact Network facilitated a 5-day Financial Education workshop in 5 villages reaching 345 women, comprising of both NetGirls players and community women. After the completion of the Financial Education workshop, several groups submitted proposals for a poultry income generating project.

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Parent engagement day is a termly event for Impact Network where parents, teachers, learners, and other stakeholders of the community come together to address various issues affecting the academics and wellbeing of the learners. Parent engagement has provided numerous benefits since its inception, including the improvement of parent-teacher ties as well as community and organizational relationships. It has also inspired and motivated parents to assist their children beyond basic school.

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I’ve been reflecting a bit as we plan for 2024 and especially for the future of Read Smart, and I thought I might share some of the best moments I’ve seen across all our schools while watching one powerful transformation take place in our students – learning to read.

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