Alumni TIES

Alumni Thematic International Exchange Seminars (Alumni TIES) are regional, thematically focused gatherings for U.S. government sponsored exchange program alumni. Through the small grants initiative, alumni will have the opportunity to take action and make a positive difference.  The Alumni Thematic International Exchange Seminars (Alumni TIES) program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and administered by World Learning.      

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RENEWABLE ENERGY DAY AT LENTING VILLAGE FOR YOUTH CAREER DEVELOPMENT

Rural communities in South Africa often lack access to sources of sustainable energy and the associated job opportunities. Alumni TIES participants, Morongwe Malebye and Azizat Olusola Gbadegesin, were awarded an Alumni TIES Small Grant to address this issue in the rural village of Lenting. Their project will act as a catalyst for stakeholder collaboration in addressing challenges faced by the school and larger community. This three-month project is comprised of three-day events, including site visits to local companies, and will culminate in a “Renewable Energy Day” event in Lenting, where a stakeholder charter will be established. The long-term plan of this project is to install solar energy (capacity of a minimum of 500 kilowatts) by 2019 for the rural village of Lenting and surrounding areas through collaboration with strategic stakeholders. Below is their most recent project update.

The need for renewable energy solutions and career guidance has been identified through engagement with the schools and larger community in Lenting village. At the local high school, Chueu-e-kgolo, the recent pass rate has dropped to 34%, where an average of 84% had been achieved between 2013 and 2015. This is the result of a multitude of interwoven challenges faced by the school, including lack of equipment, library resources, computers and wifi, in addition unreliable electricity and other school infrastructure.

The Science and Technology group with facilitator

Ditiropele Green Technologies (DGT), led by Morongwe Malebye, and in collaboration with the schools and Lenting community, successfully organized a three-day program, which culminated in a Renewable Energy Day event in Lenting village on September 16, 2017. This initiated sustainable collaboration among key stakeholders in the district and Limpopo in a united effort to address the needs of the schools and larger community. We were awarded a small grant by the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs (ECA) at the U.S. Department of State to kick-start the multi-year program. With support from local institutions and companies, we were able to host a successful Renewable Energy Day and other related project events.

The Arts and English group facilitated by a local filming company

On the first programming day, focused on science, technology, math, commerce (including entrepreneurship), arts, and English-based fields (such as filming and production), we had a career day and offered advice sessions for the learners in Grade 8, 9, 10, and 11. We also opened up the opportunity to unemployed youth in the village. Additionally, we held a demonstration on how solar energy works as part of the day’s activities. The learners were asked to write down their challenges in STEM subjects and the areas where they would like potential mentors to assist them. The unemployed youth in the math and commerce group expressed interest in starting their own solar company.

A solar power demonstration is shown to the Chief

To further improve learning outcomes, the team also donated a science lab kit to the Chueu-e-kgolo school through one of the project sponsors, Wits University’s Mechanical, Industrial, and Aeronautical Engineering Department.

The science lab kit presented to the science teacher and heads of the school

On the second day, we took the learners on site visits to various local business, including those which did solar geyser manufacturing, furniture manufacturing, and nutraceutical processing.

Moringa nutraceutical manufacturing plant

Solar geyser manufacturing plant

On the third day, we launched the Renewable Energy Day, where various speakers from industry, the heads of local schools, alumni, as well as the community leaders gave presentations on their roles, as well as the challenges faced by the schools and larger community. The learners also gave feedback on their experience.

A group of learners who participated in the program

Community members with one of the speakers, Ms. Karabo Morule, MD

The goal of the program and Renewable Energy Day was presented by DGT. The team provided an explanation on the purpose of the stakeholder forum, while highlighting the importance of goal setting for the schools and Lenting community, including having a three-year strategy and key portfolios that will ensure accountability of all stakeholders. Some of the key portfolios are education, skills development, mentoring, and extra tuition infrastructure development. The attendees were requested to indicate which areas they would like to be part of, and whether they would like to be contacted on next steps. This is the beginning of the establishment of the forum, with the next steps to focus on involving and onboarding more local companies and corporations.

Renewable Energy Day launch event

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Women BeeBuzzers

Women BeeBuzzers is a project that aims to introduce beekeeping as a primary or secondary source of income for women in rural areas in Jordan.

Beekeeping can provide a sustainable source of income for these women; it is also environmentally friendly and fits the social context as women are not easily allowed to work outside their houses. Women will be able to achieve financial independence and stability for themselves and their families.

Our goal is to train in beekeeping practices, provide all the required equipment, and offer necessary follow up to enable women to become beekeepers and start their own small apiaries. All the produce from these apiaries will be marketed through a partnership with Arabia for Bees and Honey Products, which are well-established Jordanian company specialized in trading and marketing honey and other bee products. These companies will volunteer their time and expertise for this rural women development project.

The positive effects of the first training were clear for the participants, as well as the local community. Participants were excited to learn the beekeeping skills and techniques; they also were motivated to excel in the training to receive their own beehives. Local community involvement was exceptional with members of the local community also attending the training and associated workshops. Husbands provided support for their wives as they were in our training sessions, and whole families gathered to learn new skills!

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MALAWI OFF-GRID ENERGY MARKETS OUTREACH PROJECT

This project is disseminating off-grid energy information to the rural people of Malawi due to the fact that more than 90% of the off-grid energy product suppliers are based in urban areas and do not serve rural populations. It has been observed that many rural people do not have the right information regarding off-grid products and services. Oftentimes people in rural areas receive the wrong products and services after being cheated by certain mobile vendors.

This project is bringing reputable off-grid suppliers to 10 rural areas to interact with prospective customers on products ranging from solar, hydro, and biomass to wind systems. In all the five sites where exhibitions have taken place, the response from the rural people has been overwhelmingly positive.

Check in later for more interesting updates as Morongwe Malebye joins the second part of the campaign all the way from South Africa!

Stakeholders meeting in Mzuzu city

One of the exhibition activities in rural Malawi

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PROJECT UPDATE: FIRST PHASE

Awareness Campaigns in Clean Energy Access for All and Energy Efficiency

The overall goal of the project is to conduct awareness and advocacy campaigns in energy access for all to build a nation-wide constituency of advocates for green and inclusive energy. This constituency will contribute to the crucial aim of reducing energy poverty (the absence of access to sustainable and affordable energy sources), which the majority of Malawian households are currently facing. The project managers. Admore Chiumia and Hastings Mkandawire, are leveraging the skills attained at Alumni TIES so that a wider community in Malawi can benefit from sustainable energy sources. They are accomplishing this by recruiting 1500 youth participants to support the attainment of clean energy access for every Malawian. The project involves energy fares in six selected institutions, presentations from students, games, poems, songs, quizzes, and study tours to three mini-grids in Malawi. 

Awareness campaigns have already been conducted in the selected institutions in Malawi. The second phase of the project will be study tours to mini-grids so that the youth participants can gain a practical understanding of alternative clean energy solutions.

Specific objectives to be attained by the project:

Enhance youth participants’ practical knowledge and professional skills in energy access needed to pursue long- term academic and career goals.

Conduct on site “energy fares” in six selected institutions (Mzuzu University, Mzuzu technical colleges, Lilongwe University, Lilongwe Technical College, Blantyre Soche Technical, and Malawi University of Science and Technology).

Cultivate youth participants’ practical, comprehensive, and nuanced understanding of the energy technologies i.e solar, hydropower 

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Project Update: Business Idea Competition on Low-Cost Energy Solutions

A workshop on opportunities for the energy business in Ethiopia was held in Mekelle City on September 30, as part of the project, "Business Idea Competition on Low-Cost Energy Solutions.” The aim of this workshop was to catalyze a cultural shift to better support aspiring entrepreneurs in the energy business and promote the idea that competition can encourage innovation. 

The workshop attracted 62 young engineers and gave them an opportunity to understand the current situation of energy access in Ethiopia. Presentations included: Solomon T. Michael, a lecturer, researcher, and head of the energy department at the Ethiopian Institute of Technology Mekelle on energy access; the Tigray Mines and Energy Agency on their ongoing projects related to low-cost energy technologies in Tigray; and a young entrepreneur, Mebrahtu, who shared his innovative work on different types of energy efficient traditional stoves.

Participants discussed opportunities, challenges, and solutions in starting up an energy business in Ethiopia. Participants were also made aware of the opportunity to join the upcoming business idea competition on low-cost energy solutions in Ethiopia. The workshop inspired 13 young engineers to apply for the competition.

Participants were captivated by the energy demand growth rate for the next 20 years in Ethiopia and by the energy efficiency concept. The team has also received continuous support from the head of the Entrepreneurship Office and the Deputy Director of the Research and Development Office of Mekelle University.

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Project Update: Go! Science: Together We Spread Science Spirit

The word that most accurately describes our recent work is “INSPIRE.”

Following the successful Science Fair on December 3, 2016, the 2017 campaign "Go! Science: Together We Spread Science Spirit” was launched. This was the first time MSMS implemented the science event series outside of Ho Chi Minh City. The science camp and coffee shares were the two primary activities of our Go! Science Campaign.

On September 9, 2017, the first science camp to kick-off this event series was conducted at Nguyen Binh Khiem High School (in Quang Nam, a province in central Vietnam), attracting around 200 high school students to participate. During this event, there were three main science activities to encourage careers in the field of science, as well as provide knowledge about science, including science booths, uni-life reveal, and science quizzes. 

The “science wall,” covering all science articles published by the MSMS content community, was displayed on the way to the camp.

Inside, there were many science-related activities from our three labs: Health Science, Applied Science, and Environmental Science. The interactive activities included DNA extraction, medical oil formulation, blood type identification, Arduino board set-up, robot interaction, dendrology, and many more.

All participating students were engaged in the “science quiz” to recall all the information in their tour of the science booths.

Apart from the science camp, the two coffee shares were conduced by our Health Science Lab and Applied Science Lab on September 10 in Da Nang. The two coffee shares covered a couple topics.

- Digital Era: To be Sheep or to be Wolves?

- Pain Has Its Secret: That's What You Think?

The science camp in Ba Ria High School (Ba Ria - Vung Tau - nearly 100 km from HCMC) was the closing event for our Go! Science series. On September 23, 400 students attended the camp, far exceeding our expectations!

Most students were inspired by expertise 'monitors' in different classes for our uni-life reveal. A variety of career paths were also covered, including the fields of medicine, pharmaceutical sciences, chemistry, environment, robotics, and programming. 

Aiming to nurture a passion for science by engaging students using a non-academic method with a simple, interdisciplinary, and applicable approach, we - MSMS - have been pleased to receive very positive feedback from participating students:

"This is the first time I have joined such a great event about science." - Nhat, 17, from Quang Nam

"I have never imagined science is so close to everyday life like that." -Khiem, 18, from Ba Ria

"I'm so impressed by your knowledge as well as the enthusiasm you bring here." -Hai, 23, a volunteer from Da Nang

This feedback make us proud of the work we have done, doing our part to spread the science spirit among Vietnamese youth. Go! Science is not only about the milestone events we conducted, but also the close-knit MSMS family we have built. 

Check out our website (msmsproject.com) to learn more about our work.

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Middle East North Africa TIES: Casablanca Small Grants Competition

Congratulations to the winners of the Middle East North Africa TIES: Casablanca Small Grants Competition!

Thank you to everyone who submitted a proposal. Please find below the winning proposals, team members, and project descriptions:

CONGRATULATIONS TO: Youth Leadership Program Team Members: Mostafa Mohamed Kamel El Sayed, Amr El Selouky Country: Egypt The goal of the project is to create a capacity building program that enhances professional skills for youth (aged 16-22) in the cities of Alexandria and Cairo. The project will recruit and select participants from active working groups, student activity clubs, and student-run NGOs at universities in Cairo and Alexandria. The training program will be a 45-hour program, including six topics to be delivered during six training days. Each of the three training programs will include 25-30 participants, 75 participants in total. The training programs will develop the participants’ business and leadership skills and provide them with tools to train their colleagues at their organizations and businesses.

CONGRATULATIONS TO: Entrepreneurs and Businesses Boosting Center Team Members: Murtadha Al-Ibraheem, Faez Ahmed Country: Iraq The project is designed to assist and provide Iraqi young entrepreneurs with advice and coaching they need to start their own businesses. The first objective of the project is to implement training workshops for aspiring entrepreneurs in Basrah, where they will understand how to perform market research and how to identify opportunities in local markets. These aspiring entrepreneurs will finish the training with a toolkit to help them start their new businesses. A second objective is to target and train senior business school students and graduates to be consultants and trainers for local businesses. These students will have the opportunity to meet and visit local companies and businesses to assist businesses to overcome their challenges, increase revenues, start a new product line, or enter new markets. The third objective of the project will be to provide career services to selected graduates of universities in Basrah. The “Entrepreneurs Boosting Center” will lead workshops for these university students on resume writing, job search strategies, and interview techniques.

CONGRATULATIONS TO: Iraqi Youth Returnees Development Program (IYRDP) Team Members: Salar Brifkani, Aryan Yaba Country: Iraq Iraqi Youth Returnees Development Program (IYRDP) will train and prepare 20-25 displaced youth (aged 18-35) who are living outside of the IDP camps in Erbil through five-day seminars once a month for a three-month period. The training program will help them to start their careers again, whether they plan to work for a preexisting organization or start their own business, when they return home. The training program includes workshops on economic development, public speaking, teamwork, networking, and business law by mentors and entrepreneurs. Mentors, experts, entrepreneurs, and activists will train, motivate, and prepare displaced young Iraqis on how to think, how to plan, and how to be more productive after returning to their home cities in Iraq.

CONGRATULATIONS TO: Tying Entrepreneurs Team Members: Abeer Qumsieh, Malak Al Akiely, Abdallah Al Raggad Country: Jordan This project intends to support entrepreneurs in transforming their innovative ideas into startups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). As youth constitute half of Jordan’s population, they need support and empowerment (especially women) to successfully contribute to the country’s economic growth by establishing their own businesses that address specific challenges in their communities. This project will attract young women and men, who are entrepreneurs from Amman and neighboring cities and university graduates. The project will train 15 aspiring entrepreneurs from Jordan and incubate four to six of these entrepreneurs. The project team and professional mentors will continue to support these entrepreneurs and scale their enterprises up to provide employment opportunities for Jordan’s youth.

CONGRATULATIONS TO: Women BeeBuzzers Team Members: Malak Al Akiely, Omar Al Busaidy Country: Jordan Women BeeBuzzers is a project that aims to introduce beekeeping as a main or secondary source of income for women in rural areas in Jordan. Beekeeping can provide a sustainable and growing source of income for these women. The practice is environmentally friendly and fits the social context in these areas where women are not easily allowed to work outside their homes. The project team’s goal is to train and provide all the required equipment, as well as the necessary follow up, to enable four women to become beekeepers and start their small apiaries. The products from these apiaries will be marketed through a partnership with Arabia for Bees and Honey Products, a well-established Jordanian company specialized in trading and marketing honey and other bee products, who will volunteer their time to support this rural women development project. This project will empower women in the targeted areas by providing financial independence and stability to these women and their families.

CONGRATULATIONS TO: The Entrepreneurship Toolkit for Women and Youth Team Members: Randa Farah, Abeer Qumsieh, Andre Abi Awad, Maysa Safi Country: Lebanon The Entrepreneurship Toolkit is a set of soft and technical skills to prepare entrepreneurs, especially women and youth, and aspiring entrepreneurs at lower levels of income in Lebanon and Jordan to develop their ideas and create their own businesses. A series of workshops covering topics such as “Emotional First Aid,” “Hiring Techniques for Entrepreneurs,” “Innovation and Creativity,” “Moving from an Idea to a Business Plan,” and “Marketing Tips to Launch and Grow a Business,” will provide the necessary tools to empower these women and young entrepreneurs. The training series will fulfill the following objectives: 1.) Establish a strong emotional basis and heal wounds, especially the ones related to failure, rejection, stress and poor self-esteem, to build a strong mindset for starting a business; 2.) Develop technical knowledge on how to form and hire a team; 3.) Improve skills related to creativity and innovation; 4.) Create a business plan and marketing strategy to put the ideas into practice and make it profitable; and 5.) Build a relationship with a mentor for coaching and feedback and learn how to network with fellow entrepreneurs.

CONGRATULATIONS TO: Hands Across the Mountain (HAM) Team Members: Soufiane Moudden, Al-Khansaâ Nammas, Atika Loualidi, Youssra Bensouda Country: Morocco This project’s goal is to empower approximately 3,000 young women from rural areas in Morocco such as Ouarzazate, Nador, and Hoceima by providing them with the necessary tools and training to develop their soft skills to make them fully capable to join the workforce. It is the hope of the project team that after the training workshops, the women will gain employment or start their own businesses. This training program will consist of online training sessions followed by three, four-day training camps in Nador, Ouarzazate, and Hociema. During the program, the women will engage in interactive games to increase their knowledge and skills in: work culture, leadership, team building, and communication through an online learning platform and in training workshops held in their home communities.

CONGRATULATIONS TO: Life Screen for قريتي (Kariyati) Team Members: Abderrahim Boualy, Jalal Dlimi, Ait Lkouss Abderrahman Country: Morocco Life Screen for قريتي is a training program that aims to create a generation of young leaders by introducing entrepreneurial concepts to high school students and undergraduate students, supporting them with tools, skills, and expertise to develop their academic and life skills. High school students and undergraduate university students are the participants of the project because, although they have skills, their ability to apply those skills to create entrepreneurial projects or look for job opportunities is limited. The project team created the initiative after noticing the lack of orientation and training programs in the field of entrepreneurship and academic life skills for students in the Ouarzazate region. The anticipated result of this project is the creation of a generation of self-motivated leaders equipped with an entrepreneurial spirit and life skills.

CONGRATULATIONS TO: Project Tadreeb Team Members: Sara Ait Ali, Rihab Boutadghart Country: Morocco Project Tadreeb is a three-month training program for the rural women from Ouarzazate, the surrounding villages near Marrakech, and Essaouira. The women will receive training every weekend, in accounting, finance, marketing, and communications. These trainings will enable them to be more competitive in the marketplace. The project will better prepare the women to work in the local market, enhance their ability to communicate properly, and help them to develop marketing strategies and sustainability plans. After the women complete the program, the project team will assist the trained women in delivering training sessions in their villages to share the knowledge they acquired to increase the number of project beneficiaries.  

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Energy Access for All Awareness Event Banner

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Energy Access for All - Solar Micro Businesses

Following a pilot test phase on solar energy systems for small and micro businesses, a two-day awareness event was carried out in 3 different locations in Lagos state, Nigeria thanks to funding received from the U.S Department of State through the Alumni TIES grant.

The aim of the awareness was to enlighten MSMEs on the productive use of energy, specifically, how solar can be used to make money. Also - on the benefits of using solar energy as against the traditional use of generators.

Prior to the event, a Facebook page (@SolarMicroBiz) was opened to enlighten people on what solar energy systems are about, how solar works, and the benefits of using solar energy. The page also provided a platform for publicity before the event.

Shop owners and passers-by witnessed the event first at Alade market Ikeja and Makinde area in Mafoluku, and on the second day at Ile-epo market and Pipeline area in Alimoso.

During the event, over 2000 people were reached with the shows put up at each location. We engaged the crowd with dance competitions, games and questions on what they had learnt from the awareness. Brand Ambassadors reached out to those that couldn’t leave their shops and took the message to them. At the end of the event, about 300 people indicated interest in using solar energy in powering their homes and businesses. More still to be reached via follow up awareness through the Facebook page.

Using feedback from the questionnaires given out during the event, 20 people will be picked for an intensive training on the concept of solar application for businesses, proper use of the system, basic maintenance required, impact of energy efficiency on system sustainability, and access to finance. They will also get to do live troubleshooting with the demo kit.

The systems have been tested for over six months now. They are very effective and resilient, even during raining and low insolation periods.

On affordability, we have designed a periodic payment model that is reflective of income made through the system or percentage of avoided cost of gasoline. Our focus is to power small businesses, mostly the ones that cannot operate without electricity. This is to reduce the risk of default in payment; no one wants to lose his/her source of income.

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The new Energy Ambassadors!!

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Banner of the NEA 2017

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Nigerian Energy Ambassadors 2017

Following an application for a US Alumni TIES Small Grants after the ‘Access to Energy for all’ Seminar in Ethiopia in April 2017, we were awarded funds to carry out the Nigerian Energy Ambassadors Project. The project is proposed for participants from primary, secondary and tertiary institutions in Lagos State, Nigeria. The sub-theme for Primary school students is the ‘Energy Summer School’, for secondary school students is ‘Waste-to-energy’ and for tertiary school students is ‘Energypreneurship’.

The Energy Summer School for primary school students started in August and was a lot of fun. The ‘energy’ from the children was contagious and they were keen to learn. Training sessions covered Renewable and non-renewable energy, solar PV, wind and hydropower systems, energy efficiency, water management, energy audits, solar home systems, electrical safety, etc. The children also completed a picture scrapbook, wordsearch puzzles, spelling bees, etc in their workbooks, conducted energy audits of their homes, watched cartoons on energy conservation and were presented with certificates at the end of the programme.

We congratulate the esteemed participants who are now our Energy Ambassadors. We also thank the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Alumni TIES, World Learning and the project team – Azizat ‘Sola Gbadegesin, Oluremi Hamid and Chimaobi Nna, for their support and dedication to the execution of this project.

Stay tuned for the next component of the NEA 2017 on ‘Energypreneurship’

Best regards,

Nigerian Energy Ambassadors

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Leadership, Management and Communication Skills - Training of Trainers aimed at Women Entrepreneurs

‘I am not afraid of storms, for I have learned to sail my ship’ (Louisa May Alcott)

The contents of the ToT workshop included:

Information about Organizations as Social Systems, their internal and external boundaries, and their interaction with the environment they operate in. Moreover, six important elements of an organization such as identity, strategy, structure, people, material resources and functions and processes with their inter-linkages were explained to the participants. These were all related to the current activity of women entrepreneurs and their enterprises.

To operationalize the above, the participants were introduced to effective management skills that the women entrepreneurs as managers should possess. Three key skills (an integrated model of managerial skills) were introduced that the incumbent should possess: job-related skills, people-related skills and analytical and self-related skills. In addition, leadership styles at each level of staff were explained.

Then, being a leader and a manager with the corresponding soft and hard skills they possess, were presented, and how an entrepreneur should develop by actively using the qualities of both a leader and a manager. Using situational leadership in their business when managing their employees or staff as well as what aspects the leader should focus on in different situations, was considered very relevant by the participants.

The Communication Skills part included presentations on the general model of communication, consisting of a sender and a receiver of a message and the different encoding and decoding elements (i.e. language, signs, behavior and perception, interpretation and emotions) applied at both sides. It was encouraged that both the sender and receiver of information should have a feedback system between one another to ensure the information is sent or received and interpreted correctly. Furthermore, professional ethics entrepreneurs should have, psychological behavior and corporate culture were discussed with the participants. The participants, in turn, were encouraged to actively take part in discussions and debates of the topics covered. The participants-trainers will roll out this important training to the women entrepreneurs in Roshtqala district.

As a result of this ToT, the trainees were linked to women entrepreneurs from Roshtkala district. They already conducted a training for 17 women entrepreneurs. Besides covering the key aspects of the topics in these trainings, the participants were also encouraged to work individually and in groups; this stimulated them to actively go through the learning process. The women entrepreneurs are expected to utilize their gains from the workshops in their routine business activities. In the workshops, the participants already could link the different aspects of the topics to their real life situations. Moreover, they expressed their consent on the training since for them it was the first time to gather and share their experiences in such an interesting and promising environment.

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‘Registraethics’ Project: Seminar for Court Registrars

The main activity of the "Registraethics" project was conducted yesterday. It brought together about 109 Court Registrars from the South West Region. It also saw the participation of four (04) Registrars-in-Chief from the North West Region. The theme of the workshop/seminar was 'Registrars and Collaborative Working Values'

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Africa Alumni TIES – Addis Ababa Small Grants Competition

Congratulations to the winners of the Africa Alumni TIES – Addis Ababa Small Grants Competition! Thank you to everyone who submitted a proposal. Please find below the winning proposals, team members, and project descriptions:

CONGRATULATIONS TO: Organizing a Business Idea Competition on Low Cost Energy Solutions Team Members: Tawetu Abreha Zerue, Mizan Welderufael Massa Country: Ethiopia Organizing a Business Idea Competition on Low Cost Energy Solutions aims to encourage recent graduates in electrical power engineering and mechanical engineering of Mekelle University to become engaged in energy business entrepreneurship, enabling them to be catalysts for further entrepreneurial developments in Ethiopia. Participants will be offered mentoring and training workshops on business model development. The project team will organize a competition in the country to create awareness and raise interest in energy business entrepreneurship. This initiative will be co-organized with community stakeholders, including the Ethiopian Institute of Technology-Mekelle’s (EIT-M) Entrepreneurship Office, the Ethiopian Entrepreneurship Development Center, the Energy Institute at Mekelle University, and the Tigray Energy Agency Office. CONGRATULATIONS TO: Formation and Training of Smart and Green Energy Clubs in Ghana’s Technical Universities for the Promotion of Renewable Energy, and Energy Efficiency and Conservation Team Members: Prosper Ahmed Amuquandoh, Michael Kwabena Mireku, Akosua Afriyie Osei-Appaw, Hannah Kabir Country: Ghana This project aims to create awareness about renewable energy, energy efficiency, best practices in conservation, and improved cooking technologies in the three northern regions of Ghana. To reach a larger audience, at a relatively low cost, it will adopt the “training of trainers” approach, starting with the training of 150 students in three technical universities located in each of the three northern regions of Ghana. The students will be trained on renewable energy, energy efficiency, and conservation. They will also be empowered with the leadership, entrepreneurial, and communication skills to effectively promote and implement renewable energy and energy efficiency practices. This will help increase access to clean energy for businesses, institutions, and households in the three northern regions of Ghana. To help sustain the project, the students will expand the projects to educational, religious, corporate, and community-based organizations. CONGRATULATIONS TO: Driving Top of the Mind Awareness and Advocacy Campaigns in Energy Access for All Team Members: Admore Chiumia, Hastings Mkandawire Country: Malawi The overall goal of the project is to conduct awareness and advocacy campaigns to increase access to energy and build a nation-wide constituency of advocates for green and inclusive energy. Malawian households are currently facing energy poverty. The implementers will leverage the skills attained at Africa Alumni TIES so that a wider community in Malawi will encourage youth to promote clean energy access for every Malawian. The project will involve energy fares in six selected institutions, presentations from students, games, poems, traditional dances, songs, quizzes, and a study tour to three mini grids in three regions of Malawi. The project hopes to reach 1500 youth from technical schools and universities in three regions of Malawi. CONGRATULATIONS TO: Malawi Off-Grid Energy Markets Outreach Project Team Members: Hastings Mkandawire, Morongwe Malebye Country: Malawi The project’s goal is to develop a 100 megawatt off-grid business via 10 potential marketplaces targeting 3,500,000 prospective customers (comprising cooperatives, farmers clubs, schools, clinics, village loan groups, businesspeople, and other individuals) in the rural areas of Malawi. Through the creation of a rural energy business association, this project will create marketplaces for different products and services such as pico hydro turbines, solar water heaters, solar electricity, wind turbines, and smart meters produced and marketed by companies such as Turbines Development Enterprise, Ditilopele Development, LEE Enterprise, Practical Action, dVentus, Mawerera Enterprises, Yankho Solar Company, and many others. This project will engage the rural people to identify their energy gaps and take a leading role in selecting the off-grid systems that best suit their needs. As the rural people begin to employ these systems, the process will create jobs for technicians and grow potential business for off-grid manufacturers and suppliers from Malawi and the greater continent. CONGRATULATIONS TO: Nigerian Energy Ambassadors Team Members: Azizat Olusola Gbadegesin, Oluremi Hamid, Olakunle Owoeye, Prosper Ahmed Amuquandoh Country: Nigeria This project seeks to build a network of young energy ambassadors and entrepreneurs by creating awareness and sharing basic knowledge on energy efficiency, energy conservation, and renewable energy. This project will also provide training and skill acquisition in the design, installation, and operation of small solar PV systems. These activities will help to catalyze local energy innovation, encourage interest in renewable energy, enhance institutional involvement and development, increase energy access to unserved and underserved areas, improve energy efficiency, and reduce reliance on conventional fossil fuels. It is expected that at the end of the modules, the energy ambassadors have gained sufficient knowledge to continue the activities of the energy club for subsequent sessions with the assistance of their facilitators. CONGRATULATIONS TO: Solar Micro Businesses - Promoting Productive Use of Energy in Nigeria Team Members: Owoeye Olakunle, Tshegofatso Neeuwfan, Fadekunayo Adeniyi Country: Nigeria This project aims to promote the productive use of energy among the micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) community through the design and construction of 1000 innovative solar powered systems by 2020, customer education on PUE opportunities, and business development service delivery for start-ups and established businesses. The project activities will also facilitate access to efficient and high-quality end-use equipment via a sensitization workshop and awareness raising project, media propagation, and improved access to long-term micro credits. The Alumni TIES small grant will fund phase three of the project: a sensitization workshop on the productive use of energy in rural and urban parts of Lagos State in Nigeria. CONGRATULATIONS TO: The Engaged Youth in Energy Conservation Project Team Members: Lydie Umubyeyi, Mutabazi Rita Clemence Country: Rwanda This project will address the issue of energy inefficiency in schools, focusing on five Rwandan technical schools. In addition, the project will tackle the issue of “using less energy for the same services/work” through energy conservation programs, such as developing tools on how to use energy more efficiently. Students will learn how to conduct energy audits and teams from the schools will compete with one another to determine which school succeeded in being the most energy efficient. By engaging these schools, the students will take the lead in finding solutions appropriate to their energy challenges.     CONGRATULATIONS TO: Energy Day and Related Events for Awareness of Solar Energy Team Members: Morongwe Malebye, Azizat Olusola Gbadegesin Country: South Africa Rural communities in South Africa often lack access to sources of sustainable energy and the associated job opportunities, such as in the rural village of GaMphahlele, Lentin. The long-term plan of this project is to install solar energy (capacity of a minimum of 500 kilowatts) by 2019 in the rural village of Lentin and surrounding areas through collaboration with strategic stakeholders. The objective is to replicate this model in neighboring villages, which fall under the monarchy of Mphahlele, and throughout the Limpopo province. The project will provide a platform and act as a catalyst for stakeholder collaboration in addressing challenges faced by the school and the community. The small grant will fund activities in nutraceutical farming, agro-processing, wood manufacturing, mining, and waste recycling will be leveraged in promoting renewable energy job opportunities to community members. This three-month project is comprised of three-day events, including site visits to local companies, and will culminate in an “Energy Day” event in Lentin, where a stakeholder charter will be established. CONGRATULATIONS TO: STEM for Energy Team Members: Kakoma Mutenda, Kabwe Musonda Country: Zambia The main objective of STEM for Energy is to work with and connect two communities in Zambia in solving their energy-related problems. The team has identified three technical high schools in Zambia where they will pilot this initiative. Select participants will be those with an expressed passion for and interest in JETS (junior engineers, technicians, and scientists) fairs. The project will bring seasoned engineers and scientists to high schools to teach and demonstrate how basic high school level science principles can be used to solve energy access challenges, improve efficiency, and create sustainability. The project will provide schools with training materials, instructing 50 students at each technical school. The project will demonstrate how science can be used to solve local energy challenges, motivate students to pursue careers in STEM, and help them solve local community energy challenges.

[alumnities]

The students, faculty, staff, police officers and community members of Chinatown have truly enjoyed their urban garden! We have harvested many of the vegetables and herbs. Students were able to take home the vegetables and herbs to share with their family, churches and mosque. In addition, we donated almost 20 lbs of vegetables and herbs to the Bowery Mission homeless shelter. Each time I've been working in the garden, I can't help but notice people taking a look into the garden with a smile on their face or stopping to point out their favorite vegetables we have grown.

The urban garden provides a green space for students to enjoy and is aesthetically pleasing for the community. It helps reduce air pollution, storm water runoff, the heat island effect and promotes biodiversity. Through the educational workshops, students were able to understand the effects of climate change, collaborate with one another and take action.

Thank you World Learning and the U.S. Department of State for the opportunity to engage the community and raise awareness on climate  change issues!

[alumnities]

For the “FINE” project, Nabieva Firuza and Pulatova Aziza have conducted a series of trainings for girls in target zones. The main goal of the project is to implement capacity-building initiatives and to increase young women’s empowerment and economic participation.

The sessions were mainly delivered in the form of discussions and working groups. Participants found it valuable to discuss their financial challenges, such as unexpected spending and overhead costs.

The content of the first module of the training was developed to educate girls on planning and budgeting monthly income thereby improving their financial literacy. An existing manual for financial education was reviewed and adjusted to the needs of girls in four districts. How to manage savings was also one of the most discussed topics between the participants.

Many participants insisted that the topic should be a priority within the community, and should be delivered to other community members during community meetings. Financial literacy trainings are essential to Tajikistan, as it is a country in transition post-USSR. Improving financial literacy is one tool for furthering the education of the population and development of the country.