During the Mentorship Academies in Watmanu in April, we had two essay competitions, one of which was on the subject “How I’m contributing to build a better Kenya.” The top prize, a brandnew Samsung Galaxy Pad, was won by the AiduFellow Sarah Musila . Read below the winner‘s essay and get insights into how Kenya’s young future shapes society.

“Building a better Kenya has been my dream since I was a toddler. This has been showcased mostly because of the patriotism burning inside me. The urge to see Kenya, my beautiful country, featured as one of the best and most developed countries, has propelled me to do a lot.

Building a better country is not only on the development of industries, but also inside our hearts and how we treat each other. With this in mind, I have managed to teach at our local church Sunday school. It is quite amazing to pass knowledge on how the kids to relate with each other. With this, it helps them to be responsible citizens in the future, hence imparting these skills to the rest of society.

Joining a youth programme in our area has been the most exciting thing so far. Here, we offer services like garbage collection. This step has helped keep our streets clean. With this, most citizens have adopted the trend and have worked extra to make sure they maintain cleanliness.

I have had several mission trips to other areas where we talked to Kenyan girls (who are often suppressed in rural areas in Kenya, editor’s note) how to make good decisions with their lives. Here, we had great time and participated in games, especially swimming. This has helped them become physically fit. One girl actually won at a swimming competition held in a charity programme.”

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„The Realising your Potential“ Mentorship Academy in late April in Watmandu was dominated by a horrific accident. Our 16-year old AiduFellow Haron lost his young life in the swimming pool of the Watamu tropical resort on the 20th of April, 2016. We were all shocked and saddened at the loss of our good friend and exceptional AiduFellow. He was laid to eternal rest on 29th April 2016 in Mt. Elgon in Gitwamba. May his soul rest in peace.

“The purpose incomplete
You leave the world early
Indefinite and unheard of
A lot of questions ring in my brain
I panic and mind melts in though
Just you you and only you.
Dreams unlived
Unrealized we feel for you
You may be gone
But we are goners
Crowded with emotions and chaos
We feel dead and broken.
Can’t say much in this case
For the Creator planned
His work never doubted or corrected
Gone by right
The right of passage to someplace better
We will miss you.
Rest in peace.”

Written by Nabil H. Salim, AiduAlumni.

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Our warmest congratulations goes out to Daniel Joseph Benito who graduated with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics, summa cum laude, for being selected Valedictorian of Ateneo de Manila University’s Class of 2016. We are so happy that time has come Daniel‘s kind of quiet and humble, yet strong and reliable leadership to be put on center stage and celebrated. The Ateneo valedictorian is someone who embodies the university ideals, namely excellence in academics, but also service and commitment in nation-building.

„Of course, I have always hoped that one day a Pathways and Aiducation participant could be Ateneo Valedictorian. We’ve come close these past years“, Solvie N. Nubla-Lee, CEO of Aiducation International Philippines and Director of Pathsways, shares on Facebook. „I am happy this year proved to be THE year.“

Daniel is an exemplary leader. At his very young age, he has the rare ability to think strategically while at the same time ensuring his programs and his team effectively executes projects. He has also successfully shown how he is able to balance his time efficiently to make sure he churns out exemplary work in his extra-curricular activities, while still excelling in school and balancing other responsibilities such as his participation in Pathways.

All this he accomplishes with a mild and cheerful disposition. His leadership style is easygoing. Despite his achievements, he continues to remain humble and yet has easily gained the respect and admiration of his peers. He can easily transform from a shy, reticent person to a charming, confident and competent young leader that he is. That is why he can rally them to commit to a project and deliver effectively. „To me, he has truly imbibed what it means to be a man for others – academically competent yet humble, charismatic, perceptive to the needs of the marginalized“, Solvie expkains. „He is a team player who knows when and how to step up when needed, and when doing so, he is able to involve his team to grow along with him.“

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On Friday, 13th Mai 2016 we all got together for a green memorial and remembrance event in honour of our our friend, aiducator and mentor Nicolas Nägeli who passed away on 19th March 2016 during an alpine mountain tour on the Aletschhorn glacier.

Around 130 people gathered at 3.30pm on a beautiful hill in Zürich called the Hasenrain in Albisrieden. Around 40 people spoke about their personal connection and impressions of Nicolas and about his impact in the world. During this time he became very close and real once more.

The tenor out of all the speeches was, that Nicolas was an amazingly talented human being – he had the gift to touch people deeply, to bring people together, to meet everybody with the same humble and honest respect, to give warmth were it was most needed (his hugs were genuine and heartfelt). He achieved in his short life so many things – all present and all people who have been given the chance to meet him will keep his legacy alive.

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This blog was written by Rachel Cooper and Oni Lusk-Stover. It was first published on Tue, 04/19/2016 on the World Bank Working for a World Free of Poverty homepage.

“My elder sisters could not get an education because at that time, there was no primary school in the village. For me it was difficult too, my school had no facilities, no water, toilet or rooms for 80 girls. Had this school not been built I would be out of school.” These are the words of Zarghony, the youngest child in a family of six and a beneficiary of the Promoting Girls’ Education in Balochistan Project (PGEB). Zarghony was once among the 62 million girls around the world who are out of school but now she benefits from a safe and secure learning environment.

On April 13, President Kim welcomed U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama to the World Bank Group for a Let Girls Learn event during which President Kim announced that the

http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2016/04/13/world-bank-group-to-invest-25-billion-in-education-projects-benefiting-adolescent-girls WBG will invest $2.5 billion over 5 years in education projects that directly benefit adolescent girls).

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