This week we continue our Giving Tuesday series, How I See Change, with the story shared by Zainab Dhanani, an education associate with the Aga Khan Foundation, East Africa’s Nairobi office. See how your support helps people like Zainab work with communities to improve their quality of life. Do you have a story to tell? Share with us how you see change by submitting a #HowISeeChange selfie!

Zainab Dhanani from the Aga Khan Foundation – East Africa Shares How She Sees Change through Children Reading in Kenya

How do you see change?

For two years, I have worked at the Aga Khan Foundation, East Africa (AKF) in Nairobi as Programme Associate for Education. Although most of my time is spent in the office, I occasionally have the chance to see our work in the field. When I visit schools I am astonished at how enthusiastically teachers have embraced the Reading to Learn (RtL) methodology to improve the literacy and numeracy of children in lower primary grades. In one visit, I remember a young boy sitting at his desk reading confidently to the rest of the class. Experiencing this first-hand showed me tangibly the success of AKF’s work and my connection to it.

What first inspired you to get involved with the Aga Khan Development Network?

Being a Shia Ismaili Muslim, I have always been inspired by the work of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). In 2011, I was able to gain first-hand experience of how the Aga Khan’s vision is translated into sustainable change. That’s when I received the Sheela Basrur Travel Bursary. Dr. Basrur was an Indian-born Canadian physician who became Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health and Assistant Deputy Minister of Public Health. Through the award I had a four-month placement at the Community Health Department (CHD) of the Aga Khan Health Services in Mombasa, Kenya.

There I had the opportunity to work with a team to design a research study on the birthing practices of women in Coastal Kenya. This project was part of the Mama Na Mtoto initiative that promotes safe and sustainable motherhood practices. During field visits, I saw the inequalities in health for many women in Coastal Kenya. Rather than providing financial support to the marginalized (a common practice in development), CHD worked to address upstream factors of health, such as providing education to communities and empowering them to take action. Communities first identified and acknowledged the problems they faced, and then jointly came up with solutions drawing on their strengths (for example, skills and knowledge) and other resources to ensure that those solutions were sustainable. This experience fueled my passion to continue working with AKDN.

Did benefits emerge that you didn’t foresee?

AKF has implemented its Whole School Approach model through the Education for Marginalized Children in Kenya (EMACK) project for the past ten years. The Whole School Approach is a participatory process that empowers the entire community to analyze key challenges facing their schools, identify workable solutions, and agree on roles and responsibilities to bring about desirable changes. The Whole School Approach ensures involvement of parents, education officials and other members of the wider community, not just teachers and pupils.

In addition to the expected benefits of School Development Plans, the Whole School Approach has helped communities to expand their focus. This includes, for example, the improvement of school infrastructure (both inside and outside) and purchase of books and other learning materials. In 2014, the Kenyan government adopted this approach for over 3,000 primary schools. By adopting the Whole School Approach, the Government of Kenya has committed to supporting children in a comprehensive way.

What is your hope for the future of this program?

Education is a constantly evolving field that requires new and innovative solutions. One critical way forward is integrating Information Communication Technology (ICT) in education, which helps improve learning outcomes and teaching capacity. This would be revolutionary in its impact; all teachers and children would have the opportunity to receive a quality education, regardless of where they live.

Is there one person who inspires you about change?

Individuals who have inspired me with their commitment of knowledge and time to improving the well-being of the human race include Princess Zahra Aga Khan, Bill and Melinda Gates, and the late Sheela Basrur. Their dedication inspires me to contribute to change through my work at AKF.