The Academy's dining services provide a varied menu throughout the week. We aim for meals to be nutritious and delicious and for mealtimes to be an important aspect of Academy life. We are committed to providing balanced vegetarian and non-vegetarian options for all meals.

Menu for 25–31 August 2014

Monday
Breakfast Fresh fruit juice Banana Choice of cereal with milk Brown bread and muffins with jam, butter and honey Boiled or scrambled eggs Baked beans, boiled arrowroot, grilled tomatoes Hot milk, tea, coffee, drinking chocolate	Lunch Carrot ginger soup  Salad bar  Keema curry with garden peas Potato and pea curry Jeera rice and chapati Ugali with spinach and dal Watermelon slices	Dinner Leek and potato soup  Salad bar  Pan-fried fish with tartare sauce  Vegetable spring rolls with tamarind sauce  Tomato rice Carrots and baby marrow Fruit strudel
Tuesday
Breakfast Fresh fruit juice Banana Choice of cereal with milk Brown bread and Danish pastries with jam, butter and honey Boiled eggs or eggs frittata Red kidney beans, oven roasted sweet potato, grilled tomatoes Hot milk, tea, coffee, drinking chocolate	Lunch Cream of tomato soup Salad bar  Swiss chicken with rice pilaf  Vegetable patties with rice pilaf Herbed bread and sautéed vegetables Ugali with sukuma and maharagwe  Crème caramel	Dinner Green pea soup  Salad bar  Beef pizza or vegetarian pizza  Coleslaw salad  Chunky vegetable chilli with pea rice English cake
Wednesday
Breakfast Fresh fruit juice Banana Choice of cereal with milk Brown bread and doughnuts with jam, butter and honey Boiled eggs, pancakes, beef sausage Baked beans, baked arrowroot, grilled tomatoes Hot milk, tea, coffee, drinking chocolate	Lunch Clear vegetable soup  Salad bar   Chicken or vegetable biryani with raita and cucumber  Mchicha Vegetable matoke Banana cake	Dinner Sweet potato soup Salad bar  Fish in masala sauce  Eggplant and okra in masala sauce Curried potatoes and puri Fruit crumble
Thursday
Breakfast Fresh fruit juice Banana Choice of cereal with milk Brown bread and muffins with jam, butter and honey Boiled or poached eggs Fried red kidney beans, boiled sweet potato, grilled tomatoes Hot milk, tea, coffee, drinking chocolate	Lunch Beef vegetable soup  Salad bar  Balti chicken curry Okra, carrot and pea curry Jeera rice and tandoori naan  Ugali or rice with maharagwe and sukuma Pineapple slices	Dinner Cream of vegetable soup  Salad bar  Beef stew with vegetable rice and ugali Sautéed sukuma Vegetable pilau with kachumbari and carrot pickle Vanilla cake
Friday
Breakfast Fresh fruit juice Banana Choice of cereal with milk Brown bread and Danish pastries with jam, butter and honey Boiled or country scrambled eggs Baked beans, steamed arrowroot, grilled tomatoes Hot milk, tea, coffee, drinking chocolate	Lunch Chicken and sweetcorn soup  Salad bar  Macaroni beef and cheese bake Vegetable macaroni and cheese bake Herbed focaccia bread Buttered French beans Rice or puri with vegetable jalfrezi  Ice cream	Dinner Cabbage Soup  Salad bar  Chicken makhani (murg makhani) Chick peas and potatoes in makhani sauce Spinach masala  Paratha and rice Passion jelly
Saturday
Breakfast Fresh fruit juice Banana Choice of cereal with milk Brown bread and kaimati with jam, butter and honey Plain or masala omelette French toast, grilled tomatoes Hot milk, tea, coffee, drinking chocolate	Lunch Cauliflower soup  Salad bar   Beef or vegetable pies  Baked potato wedges  Coleslaw salad Fried red beans with pilaf rice Mango mousse	Dinner Broccoli soup  Salad bar  Fish in coconut sauce  Mbaazi in coconut sauce with mahamri Lemon rice  Sautéed mchicha  Pineapple turnover
Sunday
Breakfast Fresh fruit juice Banana Choice of cereal with milk Brown bread and mahamri with jam, butter and honey Fried eggs Steamed cassava, cow peas in coconut, grilled tomatoes Hot milk, tea, coffee, drinking chocolate	Lunch Lentil soup  Salad Bar   Tandoori chicken with masala potatoes  Mexican bean tacos with rice  Buttered french beans Watermelon slices	Dinner Chicken noodle soup  Salad bar  Meatballs in tomato sauce Vegetable croquettes in tomato sauce Spaghetti and vegetable butonates Herbed bread rolls Pancakes with orange sauce

The Academy's dining services provide a varied menu throughout the week. We aim for meals to be nutritious and delicious and for mealtimes to be an important aspect of Academy life. We are committed to providing balanced vegetarian and non-vegetarian options for all meals.

Menu for 29 August – 4 September 2016

Monday
Breakfast Cornflakes Omelette Toast, butter, jam Palak paratha Curd, pickle Hot/cold milk Tea Cut fruits  Mid-morning snack: Veg sandwich Lemon mint juice	Lunch Chicken methi Paneer methi Dal arhar Onion pulao Chapati Cucumber raita Pickle Chocolate cake Evening snack: Veg bhel Donut (residential) Buttermilk	Dinner Seasonal veg dry Moong dal Plain rice Pudina roti Green salad Fruit
Tuesday
Breakfast Strawberry cornflakes Boiled egg Toast, butter, jam Veg upma  Chutney Hot/cold milk Coffee Fresh fruits  Mid-morning snack: Baked sweet potato Banana milkshake	Lunch Rajma curry Paratha Vegetable pulao Cucumber & corn salad Mix raita Icecream Evening snack: Oatmeal cake Orange muffin (residential) Cold coffee	Dinner Seasonal veg masala Moong dal tadka Jeera rice Mint paratha Salad/pickle Fresh fruits
Wednesday
Breakfast Honey cornflakes Omelette Gobi paratha Curd, pickle Toast, butter, jam Hot/cold milk Tea Fresh fruits Mid-morning snack: Veg sandwich Pomegranate juice	Lunch Veg biryani Chicken biryani Mirchi ka salan Mix veg raita Green salad Fruit custard Evening snack: Fruit cake Samosa (residential) Cold coffee	Dinner Mix veg khorma Palak dal Steamed rice Ajwain paratha Salad/pickle Veg sambar Dry fruit laddu
Thursday
Breakfast Choco cornflakes Scrambled eggs Toast, cheese spread, jam Veg poha with chutney Hot/cold milk Coffee Fresh fruits Mid-morning snack: Pizza bun Fruit juice	Lunch Chicken manchurian Chilli paneer Mix veg sweet & sour Veg fried rice Chilli vinegar/sauce Double ka mittha Evening snack: Samosa Peanut butter cookies Mango milkshake	Dinner Chicken pasanda Paneer pasanda Dal masoor lasoni Veg pulao Missi roti Salad Mango souffle
Friday
Breakfast Honey cornflakes Masala omlette Toast, cheese spread, jam Pesarattu Groundnut chutney Hot/cold milk Tea Fresh fruits Mid-morning snack:  Veg patties Mint and coriander lassi	Lunch Uttapam Wada Sambar Lemon rice Coconut chutney Shredded salad Sooji halwa Evening snack:  Veg pizza Channa dal wada (residential) Buttermilk	Dinner Seasonal veg masala Dal panchratni Steamed rice Missi roti Salad Gongura chutney Fruits
Saturday
Breakfast Cornflakes Egg bhujia Pao bhaji Hot/cold milk Bread, butter, jam Coffee Fresh fruits	Lunch Navratna khorma Khadi pakora Jeera rice Aloo paratha Kachumber salad Curd Lawki kheer Evening snack: Cholle ragada Popcorn Buttermilk	Dinner Egg omlette curry Dal lobiya Veg pulao Palak roti Mix raitha Green salad Caramel custard
Sunday
Breakfast Cornflakes Boiled egg Masala dosa Sambar Chutney Milk/Coffee Fresh fruits	Lunch Kadai chicken Palak paneer Moong dal Tomato rice Pulka Salad/curd Khaja Evening snack:   Soya nuggets Veg pasta Cold coffee	Dinner Chicken fried rice Veg fried rice Veg manchurian Mushroom noodles Mix veg bell pepper Sprouts salad Fruits

 

As we sat for our lesson on a sweltering Tuesday afternoon, there was anticipation for the upcoming week-long break, obstructed only by the last lesson of the day. We sat for a while in a lazy stupor before our speaker arrived humbly apologising for his delay. Joseph Munyambaza was calm and composed as he began his initial talk on disparities of living. Despite appearing to be an average man who started by talking of ordinary sundries, he informed us that he was raised as a refugee and that it was education that propelled him to the position he is in today. 

He began by narrating to us that life was free and full of enjoyment in the Congo. “There was plenty of food, I was always playing…” he recalls as he spoke of his six-year old self. Due to his age, he is now aware that he was shielded from most of the atrocities that must have taken place. His older siblings on the other hand, were not as fortunate. “My brother, who was a teenager at the time, was greatly disturbed by the events that took place…” Eventually, his older brother sought comfort in alcohol in an effort to forget what he had seen. Joseph’s family relocated to refugee camp in Western Uganda in a place called Hoima. Life was different and evidently, it was hard. The life of abundance and freedom was long gone and now the life of lack and want was all that there was. You can imagine the terrible living conditions in the refugee camp which was congested and dangerous. As he grew life seemed to eventually settle when tragedy struck. Joseph’s older sister passed away only a few days before exiting the refugee camp to attend university. What really moved me was the fact that she died under preventable circumstances. His sister died because his family did not have sufficient funds to pay for treatment.

This turning point propelled him to getting a placement in a high school outside the refugee camp where he was to begin to establish his academic prowess. He further explained that he knew how important his opportunity was so he would remain focused in his studies at all costs. Things were running smoothly throughout his years in high school with his school fees sorted out by the UNHCR. He was determined to also give opportunities to other refugee children who, just like him, were so full of potential. “When I was in my second year of secondary school, my friends and I wanted to enable other refugee children to access education. And so we started COBURWAS, a youth organization that represents Congo, Burundi, Uganda, Rwanda and Sudan. Refugees in the refugee camp we lived in came from these countries and we wanted to have a shared solution. All youth came together to think of solutions. Though we had many challenges we realised that lack of access to education was more dangerous. We started tutoring, which I did to enable children to get good grades and feel motivated to love school. We also worked for people to raise money to buy exercise books for the most vulnerable children in our midst. We were a club at first, but with time our programs expanded and we became a community-based organisation. The refugee community was of great help because they supported us with the little available and it meant so much in our small start.”

However, in his fourth and most senior year, his scholarship was withdrawn. “My education was initially supported by UNHCR in senior one but when I went to senior two they sent letters that UNHCR does not have more money to support education. Fortunately, a friend called Eric Glustrom who was starting an organisation helped me to complete senior four.” Even with a graduate certificate under his belt, he was unsure of what was to come next. Then, another whirlwind of events took place such that he was admitted to the ALA (African Leadership Academy) located in South Africa. This is an institution that is internationally recognised for producing innovators and entrepreneurs who are sure to make a positive impact within their home countries. Joseph says, “I had no dream of getting to a great school like ALA. I was already extremely grateful to be in my school that was the best in the district. And so even after being accepted to into ALA I still did not believe it until I landed in Johannesburg and was handed the key to my room. It was more than I could have ever dreamed of. And when I reached at ALA I wanted to be the best I could as a student, an ambassador to my fellow youth in the refugee camp and do well in class.” 

All in all, his story was able to bring out the extent of the disparities of lives outside our own. The concept of war, forced migration and other forms of hardship is one that cannot be explained in a short period of time but were nevertheless highlighted in his talk. It is fascinating how a life can change simply as a result of joint efforts and self-motivation. By the end of his talk it was crystal clear that according to Joseph Munyambanza, education is a powerful tool.

By Bijou Mwaura, DP1

Parents, faculty, guests, the Director of the Academies, Mr. Salim Bhatia and our guest speaker, Dr. Kweku Bentil, it is an honor to have been selected to give the speech on behalf of the Class of 2015. Not because this is an opportunity to reiterate all the wonderful statistics about this tremendously talented  cohort you see before you, but because I get the opportunity, as one of my classmates adequately put it, to express the feeling of spending approximately 115,997 hours for a piece of paper and a handshake.

Teachers, I would like to begin with you. I am not going to thank you right now. However, I will start by saying sorry. For every time we ducked when we saw you coming down the hall, knowing we were not going to hand in that piece of homework. For every time we extended that deadline so far that it became inexistent. For every time we treated the piece of paper we are about to receive as your problem and not ours, and for every opportunity to thank you that we missed, thank you for being there from the beginning and here with us at the very end.

Parents, thank you. Those two words come nowhere near expressing the gratitude I know that every single student seated in front of you feels. Thank you for the support, whether financial or emotional. Do not worry; the product of your labor is awe-inspiring. In front of you sit the pioneers of the next generation, the heroes who will shape the world and leave a resplendent legacy for decades to come. DP2s, I just made a lot of promises to your parents, your job is to turn those incredibly romantic notions I sent flying their way into reality. And while it may seem like I just placed an immense task on your shoulders, I only ask of you what you are more than capable of.

In two years you have overcome every single obstacle that the IBO managed to throw at you, even though I know you imagined they sat in a boardroom discussing how to make your lives as difficult as possible. Now you are at your graduation and I know a lot of you are probably wondering what it was all for. I sincerely hope you do not expect me to give you that answer. In fact I hope you realize that no one in this room or outside it can give you that answer. As cliché as it is to say, the only person who can answer that question is you. Why did you decide to do a program renowned for its rigor? I hope it is because somewhere inside yourself you believed that you do have the ability to do anything you set your mind to; which would make everything I promised earlier a piece of cake.

So if I have not made myself clear yet, the world is yours. It is yours to shape and mould, yours to save and re-vitalize or yours to ignore and let crumble. If there is one thing you should know going forward it is that you no longer have the luxury to sit back and watch. You had about eighteen years of your life to do just that and I hope you enjoyed it. Soon the decisions about the world we live in will be left up to you. Make sure that when you are attending the next generation’s graduation the legacy you hand over is one that you are proud of.

The way to such a legacy is of course no walk in the park. There will be challenges, but the greatest one, I believe, is the day you question how special you really are. The day you stop believing you can impact the world around you is the day that ability is eternally lost you. Do not let the world tell you what you can and cannot do. Do not subscribe to the bigotry and intolerance that runs rampant throughout the world, you are far too intelligent for that. Do not gauge your abilities by comparing yourself to someone else. If you look to your left or right you will find a classmate and a team mate, not your competition. You do not benefit from being better than the person sitting next to you. I do not often quote people because I am ambitious in that I hope to create a few of my own one day, but Ernest Hemingway once said “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility lies in being superior to your former self.” Thus the key to your success does not lie in being better than everyone but, and the administration in no way coerced me to say this, in having a growth mindset. Please do not be that dentist who argues you are more important than the engineer.

Be accepting of the people around you. You cannot hope to change the world if you cannot even begin to accept the people within it. We are different. That is a reality you will have to accept. Also, please remember when you re-shape the world you affect everyone. Every culture, every race, every ethnicity and every religion. It is a complex puzzle, remember that. You can only solve it if you understand it.

Do not your let your education amount to just a piece of paper. As the incredible sagacious Albert Einstein said, “Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.” When you read that over 8,000 people died in an earthquake in Nepal earlier this month, do you simply let that statistic ring through one ear and out the other? Or do you let such facts inform your decisions about what you want to do to change the world? Do not think accumulating wealth is the way you change the world either. If you think I am being dishonest then how about you consider that there are over 5 million millionaires in the US alone. There is a treat in it if you can name more than 100 of them. I believe you know less than 100 names because they have not done enough to change the world. Martin Luther King Junior died without any financial assets at all or a will, almost 50 years later we still revere him. In the end you deserve to have your name written down in the annals of history, not a checkbook.

Finally remember as wonderful as you are, there is only one of you. You are one piece in a seven billion piece puzzle. Try and fit as snuggly as possible, keep your elbows, knees and feet in a position that does not bother anyone else.

So as I conclude this intentionally overly verbose speech, I leave you with a simple fact. Those are crazy enough to believe they can change the world, are often the ones who do. So here’s to the crazy ones - we can disagree with them, hate them, love them, quote them glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you cannot do is ignore them because they change things. They push the human race forward. I hope that you are all crazy enough to do it.