NGO uses car battery to power TeachAids software in areas with no electricity
A Better Education Club (ABE) uses the Swahili TeachAids software to educate youth in villages across Bungule, Rukanga, Jora, Kiteghe, and Makwasinyi, inhabited primarily by the Taita tribe. Serving five primary schools and one secondary school, ABE used the TeachAids materials to educate 500+ primary school students and an additional 325 secondary school students.
With no electricity to power the software, leaders utilized a car battery and an inverter to project TeachAids on a wall for learners.
“Students rarely get to watch any type of TV, so teaching from animations projected on a screen vastly enhanced their learning experience and enabled their focusing capabilities… Because there is such a social stigma against talking about HIV/AIDS in Kasigau, we struggle with students participation… the interactive nature of the technology allows for a more dynamic learning environment, rather than a static experience.” – Alexandra Isaacs, HIV/AIDS Educator
Founded in 2004, ABE is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that operates out of Miramonte High School in Mt. Kasigau, Kenya, a region about 200 kilmeters southeast of Nairobi and several hours from an accessible city. ABE was founded after community members recognized the health and education disparities disfavoring underserved areas surrounding Mt. Kasigau. With 1.5 million individuals living with HIV, and 1.2 million children orphaned by AIDS, Kenya maintains one of the most devastating HIV epidemics globally.
Since the release of the pilot Swahili TeachAids tutorials, numerous individuals and organizations in Kenya have partnered with TeachAids to further their mission of eradicating HIV. At the University of Nairobi, for example, Dignitas Project uses the tutorials as a key component in its leadership institute training curriculum to empower local leaders in underserved communities. Arche-ONLUS, another organization in Kenya, uses TeachAids to educate over 1200 pupils yearly across more than 20 schools.
TeachAids applauds the efforts of A Better Education Club to educate children and adolescents about HIV prevention. We look forward to our continued collaboration with our partners in Kenya to provide accessible and culturally-tailored HIV education.
Photo: HIV/AIDS Educator projects TeachAids software on a wall to promote learning among secondary school students in rural Kenya