Impact of Mastercard Foundation support on Davis College and Akilah Institute students

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Transcript

00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:03 When Akila was established 11 years ago,

00:16 it started by admitting a small number of women

00:20 who were disadvantaged in post-genocide Rwanda, who

00:24 were economically disadvantaged.

00:27 And it sought to empower these women

00:30 to have an easy way into the economic model that

00:33 was Rwanda primarily and the world secondarily.

00:37 We offer three diploma programs.

00:40 That is a diploma in hospitality and tourism management.

00:44 And again, we are very detailed in that

00:46 and working with a lot of partners

00:48 to make sure that we are so futuristic,

00:49 especially because we are aware that Rwanda is trying very

00:53 hard to position itself as a nice destination

00:56 in this continent.

00:57 And then again, we offer business management

01:01 and entrepreneurship.

01:03 And again, creating futuristic leaders in the business world

01:06 and information system.

01:08 Absolutely, MasterCard Foundation

01:11 is one of our key partners.

01:13 The MasterCard Foundation grant came at a time

01:16 when it was greatly needed.

01:18 This was a time of school closure.

01:20 And in a practical sense, education

01:23 was to stop until schools were reopened.

01:25 But with this grant, we were able to look

01:28 at how to redesign activities within our curriculum

01:31 to cater for self-directed learners by the learners.

01:35 And then we were able to look at how

01:36 to equip our faculty with the skills

01:38 that they needed to scope, curate these activities,

01:42 and redesign them in a manner in which students would be able

01:45 to go through them independently.

01:48 Let me give you an example.

01:49 In a normal classroom setup for a face-to-face modality,

01:53 the students are able to collaborate in discussions

01:56 and engage with their instructor in real time.

01:59 In this way, the instructor is able to pivot instruction

02:03 according to how the learners are getting the concept,

02:06 according to the struggles the learners are having,

02:09 or according to any misconceptions that

02:11 are emerging in the classroom.

02:13 This is not necessarily the same with an online setup.

02:17 With the grant that MasterCard Foundation provided us,

02:20 we were able to train and equip faculty with the requisite

02:24 skills that they needed to be able to engage learners

02:27 in an online setup.

02:29 The faculty needed to know how to integrate technology

02:32 within their curriculum.

02:34 The faculty needed to know how to scaffold content activities

02:38 and chunk the knowledge into smaller pieces of information

02:43 that learners could engage with independently

02:46 at their own pace.

02:47 Without this grant, we wouldn't have

02:50 been able to upskill faculty and continue engaging learners

02:54 seamlessly amidst the pandemic.

02:57 The Hospitality and Tourism Management Program

03:00 is very practical in nature.

03:02 So that means that some courses are taught theoretically

03:06 and others are taught practically.

03:08 So with this grant and the stipends that the students got,

03:11 they were able to do some practicals

03:13 and submit their work online.

03:16 We were also able to track and follow them

03:18 through video calls and video recordings

03:21 that they were able to do and submit their work online.

03:25 And then also, they were able to do presentations and things

03:27 like that.

03:28 That enabled them to not lag behind

03:31 with the curriculum requirements because

03:33 of the practical nature of the program.

03:35 Before COVID-19, I paid school fees for myself.

03:40 Everything about my studies, I'm the one to support.

03:46 My financial problems, I'm the one to solve it.

03:53 So before COVID-19, I tried to make it like one trimester.

03:59 But COVID came when I was in first year.

04:03 And it was hard for me because COVID-19

04:07 brought many challenges.

04:09 I personally, I was a teacher actually.

04:12 I lost my job because schools, private schools,

04:18 was stopped that moment.

04:22 And I was like, how am I going to manage this?

04:25 How am I going to continue my studies?

04:29 I was somehow shocked.

04:32 I had a job, but I myself wasn't financing myself alone.

04:37 And when COVID came, I lost a job.

04:39 So the parents also, or the guardians,

04:42 or any way of getting the money was becoming more complicated

04:45 because people were not working anymore like before.

04:48 MasterCard came at the time when we really need that

04:51 because some of us--

04:54 me personally, because by that time,

04:57 I was not affording all the school fees that we pay here.

05:01 It's kind of high.

05:02 And so MasterCard come to cover--

05:06 I guess if I would say it's like a blessing to me

05:10 because maybe if it didn't come, I would have probably

05:15 dropped out of the school.

05:16 MasterCard, when it came, it gave us

05:18 the data to use for our studies and made our learning

05:24 environment more conducive for us.

05:27 Not only MasterCard gave us the data,

05:30 it also gave us more way of supporting us

05:37 because many of us, as COVID has led to many effects,

05:42 parents and guardians were unable to pay for more--

05:46 anymore to pay for the children, not for all of us,

05:50 but for many because of its effects.

05:53 So MasterCard Foundation also have tackled on that issue

05:56 because many of us, those who were more affected,

06:00 they gave us a scholarship.

06:03 I personally have received a full scholarship

06:06 from MasterCard, and that helped me very much.

06:09 It's just a full scholarship that covers the school fees

06:15 that we pay here.

06:17 And they also provide data stipend,

06:20 which help us in--

06:21 help all the students in this blended learning

06:24 because when pandemic started, we were not coming here

06:28 at campus.

06:29 So we had to adopt it to online learning.

06:32 So those data was helping us to interact with instructors

06:37 and do all the assignment on time.

06:39 I remember after COVID-19, they resumed schools.

06:45 And I was like, how am I going to manage

06:48 to pay these school fees?

06:50 Because we used to study from home, online.

06:55 So last, we used to use different platforms.

06:59 We used WhatsApp to make different conversation

07:04 between us as classmates.

07:07 So MasterCard really helped me.

07:10 Before the COVID, we were coming here to school.

07:14 We consumed the school internet.

07:17 So when the COVID came, we changed the way of studying.

07:22 We're studying from home.

07:23 So we needed enough bundle to use in a way of learning.

07:29 We use Canvas.

07:30 And a lot of them is needed.

07:32 So the internet bundle I got from MasterCard

07:38 really helped me to complete my studies.

07:41 And now I had made it to graduate in this year.

07:44 Yet some people will not make it.

07:46 This grant helped me because if it didn't come

07:51 and my parents was among those people who were affected

07:55 and they were no longer capable of paying my school fees,

08:00 maybe I would have dropped out.

08:02 But it helped me to keep moving and achieving

08:06 my goal, which is completing my studies.

08:08 And here I am now graduating.

08:11 I would like to thank MasterCard Foundation

08:14 for giving us the support.

08:19 MasterCard Foundation, thank you so much for helping me.

08:25 My journey was so long without MasterCard Foundation.

08:29 We really appreciate them for supporting us

08:32 and our incredible community.

08:34 We couldn't have made it without them and their generosity.

08:38 I would just want to request them

08:41 to keep supporting our incredible community

08:44 just and be part of their story and their success.

08:49 Now, other than the immediate benefits of the grant,

08:53 there are long-term ripple effects

08:55 that we will continue gathering and gleaning

08:58 from way after the grant.

09:01 What does this mean?

09:02 When students come to Davis College,

09:04 they are given applied technical skills

09:06 that they need through their major programs.

09:09 However, they also have to take leadership courses that

09:12 target internal transformation of the student.

09:16 They are taught growth mindset.

09:18 They are taught emotional intelligence, community

09:20 leadership, and social change.

09:22 Through these courses, they are able to develop resilience,

09:27 the confidence that they need to pursue innovative ideas

09:30 in their communities, the confidence

09:32 that they need to drive decision-making

09:34 in their communities.

09:35 Other than that, they are able to develop the spirit

09:38 of serving in the community.

09:41 You see, with Davis College, it is not

09:43 about educating one child.

09:45 What this grant enabled us to do was

09:48 to educate a community of people.

09:50 Because with one student having a job out of the education

09:54 they gain, they are able to support at least one family

09:57 member or other members of the community

09:59 financially through education, health care, and even

10:05 good nutrition.

10:07 Now, this is what the grant has been able to do.

10:10 It has been able to educate the entire community,

10:13 without which we wouldn't have been able to even engage.

10:19 (upbeat music)

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