Collaboration Award: Presented by Sharmi Suranarian to: Sheilah Lutta (MoE), Eric Nyamwaro (STEM Impact Centre) and Maria Omare (The Action Foundation)
As part of the ReimaginED experience, the Metis community wanted to celebrate and amplify the work of Kenyan innovators who are exemplars for us all.
The awardees were chosen based on the following criteria:
Their measurable impact on their communities and in advancing learning in Kenya
Their exemplary demonstration of Metis values:
do hard things,
go further together,
listen and learn,
redefining excellence,
do small things with great love.
These leaders and their initiatives are paving the way for us to create a more equitable and just education ecosystem for all. They are lighthouses of possibility for all of us and deserving of special recognition.
The categories for the awards are listed below.
One of Metis’ core values is Further Together.
As the African proverb says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
This award was given to three individuals and their institutions who have collaborated towards expanding disability inclusion within and beyond schools.
Since 2015, the Action Foundation has provided direct services for children and families with disabilities in Nairobi’s informal settlements, ensuring that 2,200 children and youth have the wrap-around support they need to thrive.
During her Metis Fellowship, we saw Maria grow from a small two-bedroom office in Kibera to a 3 story community hub.
Over the last year, founder Maria Omare has crafted innovative partnerships to reach more families and create a more inclusive society, not only in Nairobi but across Kenya!
Together with Eric Nyamwaro and the STEM Impact Centre, and Sheilah Luttah and the Ministry of Education, Special Education Directorate, Maria and the Action Foundation will reach 2,650 girls with disabilities across Kenya’s 8 regions with STEM programming that will equip them with practical skills and leadership and career expanding opportunities.
Together, these former Metis Fellows not only planned this cross-sector approach to disability skills development but also crafted a winning proposal for Google.org, earning them over 700,000 USD in funding to implement!
Kenya is more inclusive because of their pioneering collaboration.
Join us in congratulating Sheilah Luttah, Eric Nyamwaro, and Maria Omare, this years’ recipients of the Collaboration Award!
Community-led Impact Award Presented by Virgile (SFF) to Jeremiah Kutanya, Pastoralists Integrated Concerns
Jeremiah was the first in his family to attend university, which involved him leaving rural Magadi for the capital city to achieve a degree in chemistry and secure a prestigious job.
He however proceeded to leave that role because he knew that learners, and particularly girls, were not accessing the support they needed to learn and pursue meaningful lives.
Jeremiah then founded the Pastoralists Integrated Concerns , a Community based organisation that has built a 6 pillar model centred on caregiver engagement, cultural leadership, youth advocates, appropriate curriculum, local chief involvement, and teacher training to enable girls to attend school.
A perfect example of the great impact that proximate leadership has on our communities, join us in celebrating Jeremiah, this year’s recipient of the Community led impact award!
Systems shaping Award : Presented to Ruth Mugambi (MoE) by Teresa of Imaginable Futures
Ruth Mugambi is one of the architects of Kenya’s national curriculum known as the CBC.
In 2019, before the role out of the curriculum, Ruth knew that its long-term success would be dependent on the support teachers received to guide learners and to continuously improve their own teaching practice.
With this in mind, she learned from others, including her Metis mentor at STIR in India, and Metis colleagues at Dignitas and Kenya Big Picture Learning, on how to built a pilot for Professional Learning Communities. Known as PLCs, these peer-learning circles, enabled teachers to collaborate, support each other, and up-skill themselves with new pedagogy and mindsets.
The PLCs are now a part of national policy documents including the Taskforce Report which she was a part of. The quality of education cannot supersede the quality of our teachers as well as the education officers and curriculum developers.
We celebrate Ruth and her pioneering leadership at KICD as the Chair of the CBC Technical Committee for the reform. Her courageous and iterative approach at the national level allows our system to shift evermore towards equity and excellence. For that, we presented Ruth with the “Systems shaping award”. Congratulations, Ruth!
Liberatory Learning award Presented by Gummi Galma, CIF student to Engineer Oku & Dr. Utheri Kanayo
The Children in Freedom Schools’ learning model is an example of what joyful, relevant, and rigorous learning can be.
Their pioneering school champions relevant skills-building for the local and global economy such as agriculture and coding, Afrocentric history and language, positive relationship and culture-building, and caregiver engagement.
Gumi Gaima, one of the exemplary students at CIF presented the duo with the Liberatory Learning Award after a heartwarming speech that got a standing ovation from the entire audience at ReimaginED.
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