Hindi Day and Dot Day – Thursday 13th September
This week, the Academy celebrates creativity and diversity, appreciating a versatile language and the impact of arts.
International Exchanges
An international network of Academies will eventually link students with their counterparts in Africa, South and Central Asia, and the Middle East.
International student exchanges between Academies in different countries, as well as with allied schools in Europe and North America, will offer students opportunities to broaden their worldview and learn to be at ease in multicultural settings. A common curriculum will allow students to study abroad without facing uncertainties regarding compatibility of course of study or examinations.
An inaugural programme is planned for the 2018-19 academic year for grade 9 students at the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa and the Aga Khan Academy Hyderabad. The programme will grow over the coming years, drawing in more Academies as they open and giving students the opportunity to experience life in a range of different countries and cultures.
The Academies are currently putting in place their dual language programme where English and a national language will both be languages of instruction. English will be a common medium at all Academies.
The aim is for students throughout the school to be at least bilingual, and the study of a foreign language will be greatly enhanced through immersion in that language. Likewise, appreciation and respect for other nationalities, cultures, and intellectual traditions will be greatly facilitated by direct contact with people in other countries.
Each Academy will have residential facilities in a secure campus setting. Accommodation will be provided not only for international students, but also for boarding students from within the country or region. The campus is considered a vital part of the educational programme.
Campus life is an important part of the international exchange programme. Many of the least tangible but most important elements of an education – the development of practical leadership skills, the capacity to make ethical judgments, the ability to navigate through complex cultural settings – are formed outside the classroom. Mealtimes and other informal gatherings offer opportunities for discussion, meetings, and study groups. A campus therefore greatly extends and enriches international exchanges.
Mirabelle Arodi (Class of 2012): Working Towards a Healthier Future
Indeed, the importance of these values to Mirabelle Arodi is obvious in her actions after graduation from the Academy.
Moving from Nairobi to join the residential programme at the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa, Mirabelle Arodi has come leaps and bounds. She was one of many students at the Academy on financial aid and reiterates her gratefulness for the access it gave her to an excellent education. She joined the AKA Mombasa community in September 2010, and graduated in the Class of 2012. She was also awarded a full scholarship at The University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada and is studying for a Bachelor of Science in Medical Biochemistry. She has had a very eventful university career so far, and hopes to graduate with her degree in the summer of 2016.
While at university, she has worked as a residence advisor for two years now, building a community and running different events and programmes to help enrich student’s experiences while living in residence. Her own experience as a residential student at the Academy has allowed her to fulfill her responsibilities even more effectively.
“The weekly activities such as family dinners, baraza nights and Saturday night activities also stimulated me intellectually and allowed me to interact with students of all ages and backgrounds, which made the experience of living in residence all the more enriching. This is something that I strive to create as a residence advisor here in university” she recounts.
She has also worked as a research assistant with two different professors: one, as a lab assistant in a Biological Solutions in Engineering research project, and in another economics-based solutions to water systems in British Columbia. This past year, she was also part of the planning committee for the 7th UBC Okanagan Student Leadership Conference, which was attended by over 200 university and high school students. In addition, last year she was able to attend the Berkeley Model United Nations Conference as a delegate representing UBC Okanagan. This year, she is part of the executive committee for the UBC Okanagan Model United Nations Club (UBCO MUN), in which she helped train delegates for an external international conference, organised a football tournament for over 100 people, and is currently helping to organise the UBCO MUN Conference in late January. In the future, Mirabelle hopes to go to medical school and eventually return to Kenya where she intends to work in public health and raise the standards of healthcare.
Mirabelle also valued the advice she got in terms of preparing her for life in university and beyond.
“I definitely had excellent university counseling at the Academy and was able to get my first choice of university,” she says. “The process was made very easy and smooth by the structure of weekly university counseling sessions in which I was able to perfect my personal essays. In addition, the availability of the counselors, even outside of school hours, was a huge help and I was able to get constant support and feedback. The willingness of other teachers as well, not just counselors, to help in the university applications was much appreciated.”
But Mirabelle valued her experience at the Academy for more than just getting her to university.
“The Academy definitely enhanced my intercultural fluency, which has been very valuable in interacting with the diverse student and staff population at university. Its emphasis on being well-rounded also helped me to pursue different interests other than just academics. In addition, the discipline that the academy instilled in me has enabled me to keep on track at university, and not be overwhelmed by the freedom that university offers. This gave me an advantage over other schools that my peers attended; they had more of a hard time adjusting and finding their footing.”
She also reflects on the way her time at the Academy has affected the way she lives her life outside the academic sphere.
“I think one of the most important values that the Academy instilled in me is critical thinking. My peers often ask me why I ask so many questions about everything and I believe this is a testament to the Academy encouraging critical thinking not only in academics through Theory of Knowledge (a mandatory multidisciplinary course taken by all students in the Diploma Programme), for instance, but also through involvement in other extra-curricular activities. I believe that always reflecting and analysing has helped me narrow down interests that I pursue in university, because I am able to discern why I am doing what I am doing, and how it will impact me and those around me. In doing so, I am able to get as much meaning and value out of every activity that I pursue.”
Mirabelle is still actively involved in the local community at the UBC Okanagan campus.
“I am currently taking on a legacy project that has been going on at the university for the past three years. It is a cultural fashion show in which we have students model and represent clothing from different countries in the world, as well as entertainment in the form of dances, for example, from different countries. The show is a fundraiser and this year we will be supporting local charities in the Okanagan. In doing so, we will be more engaged with the surrounding community and be able to tangibly see the effects of our fundraising efforts.”
When looking back on her choice to pursue the IB Diploma, she recognises the value it brought to her academic capability and how it set her apart from her peers who came from different systems.
“I highly value the IB curriculum and completely credit it with me being where I am now; at a well renowned university on a full scholarship, excelling in both academic and extra-curricular activities. IB was definitely very challenging, and the workload prepared me very well to handle first and second year of university. My peers did not find it as easy to meet the academic demands of school. In addition, IB helped me to balance school work while still being actively engaged in extra-curricular activities which has been very valuable in enriching my university experience so far. In addition, the course content of IB is at a very high level, which enabled me to better understand university courses and in some cases, allowed me to skip ahead and take more advanced courses in my first and second years.”
Her passion for excelling and engaging with issues that are important to her shows no signs of waning. She feels strongly about problems regarding the lack of adequate healthcare in particular.
“I believe that healthcare is incredibly important and should be a right rather than the privilege it is in some areas of less economically developed countries. If I had all the resources at my disposal, this is where I would focus; ensuring that medical care is easily accessible and affordable for all.”
Ali Nilgiriwala - racing champion and journalist in the making
At the FIRST Lego League robotics challenge held in Bangalore in February 2017, the Aga Khan Academy’s team Queso won the Best Project award. Ali, the assistant coach for team Queso, was moved by his team’s hard work and determination. Ali was also the assistant coach for team Maverick as well, and both his teams scored very well. “We were happy that we got a mentor like Ali,” says Alyque Farishta, captain of team Queso. “He is fun, intelligent and also extremely supportive.”
Ali wants to go on to race professionally, but his ambitions don’t end at the chequered flag. His greater ambition is to own a GT3 racing team. “Team management or ownership is the path to stay involved in the industry long term,” he says.
Pragati Pandey wins "Counsellor of the Year" award!
The Academy's university counsellor was given the prestigious award at the IC3 Conference in Delhi on Thursday 30th August. Congratulations!
Int'l Day of Women & Girls in Science - 11th February 2019
We celebrate our alumni, Alisha Sonawalla & Sarah Keshvani, through spotlights profiling their accomplishments in science & tech.
Karishma Bhagani (Class of 2015): Making a splash for clean water
Look below for a video of Karishma speaking at the Passion in Science Awards.
Last year, 20-year-old Karishma Bhagani of Mombasa, Kenya was awarded a seed grant at the NYU Reynolds Changemaker Challenge, beating out eight other teams and 46 other projects. Bhagani won the seed grant for an innovative water purification system that makes the most of natural resources in cash-strapped communities that need clean water. Her initiative, Matone De Chiwit, came about as a solution to a problem she noticed: more and more diseases were emerging as a result of fluctuating weather in the country, ranging from floods to drought conditions. She knew that something had to be done.
Matone De Chiwit means “drops of life” in three different languages. Matone means drops in Kiswahili (Kenya), de means “of” in Spanish (Latin America) and chiwit means “Life” in Thai (Thailand). These three languages represent the three parts of the world that suffer the most from clean water scarcity. It also speaks to the global nature of her venture, as Bhagani intends to expand her project to these three regions and beyond.
Aga Khan Academy as an Inspiration
Bhagani is a fourth-generation Kenyan who recently moved to New York City where she is studying drama, history and South Asian studies at New York University. The Aga Khan Development Network has always been a part of her life as she was one of 17 students at the Aga Khan Academy in Mombasa who made up the first class to have been educated from pre-school to IB graduate.
The biggest lesson that Bhagani drew from her education is to be a holistic student. She strives to be as well rounded as possible, striking a balance between a social life, sleep, work and school, all with the goal of making a global impact. This pursuit of balance was inspired by her many years at the Aga Khan Academy.
“I think that at the end of the day what everything comes down to is how we can be citizens of the world and how we can change the world that we live in to make it a better place for ourselves and children that follow us. And part of that also means giving back to your own community,” said Bhagani.
When she was in middle school, she was required to carry out a personal project on something that inspired her. Having noticed the drastic fluctuations of weather and rampant diseases in her country, Bhagani decided that she would come up with an innovative water purification system that uses readily accessible natural resources. Her initiative uses locally available materials – sand, gravel, charcoal and cotton cloth – to purify water for villagers all across Kenya. The initial version of the product also used chlorine tablets called Aquapur. Bhagani received generous sponsorship funding from Davis & Shirtliff, a local water supply company, for donating 20 units to a community to test for effectiveness. “A lot of the families said that the water was ‘tamu sana’ which in English means very sweet,” said Bhagani.
Before Bhagani came up with her product, local families were typically just drinking untreated water, using a lot of energy to boil it on charcoal-heated stoves or using Aquapur chlorine tablets.
Testing and Improving
Through testing and implementation in villages, Bhagani and her partners came to the realization that using chlorine in a plastic container might not be the best idea. These tablets can actually be dangerous to human health — high doses can be potentially harmful as the plastic in the bottles reacts with the chlorine, resulting in the spread of more serious illnesses. So they decided to change it to moringa oleifera, essentially dried seed kernels of drumstick tree powder. Then, she carried out a lot of testing by collaborating with the Coast Water Services Board. She found that the new version worked just as well as the chlorine unit did.
When she was in the IB program at the Academy, she had the opportunity to take her unit to the Golden Climate International Environment Project Olympiad. That’s where she carried out even more research and testing to modify and improve the system. Her project ended up advancing to the national round, then the international round, where she won gold in its category.
It was at this point that she decided to patent the product. She applied before starting at NYU and received the patent while she was a first-year student.
Why Matone De Chiwit?
What sets Matone De Chiwit apart from competitors is that the device is both chlorine-free and cost-effective. Since it’s made up of natural resources common in rural Kenya and other parts of Africa, they can be replaced easily, which means users don’t have to rely on Matone De Chiwit to replenish the filter. Charcoal is easily found and other ingredients, like the drumstick tree powder, can be grown in their backyards. Additionally, Moringa olifeira grows in a variety of climates and doesn’t need much water to grow.
In terms of cost, it’s much cheaper in the long-term than what is currently used. Even so, Bhagani intends to ensure it’s affordable for rural villages by applying for sponsorship and grant funding from large companies all over Europe and North America. Her venture is also bridging the gap from the city to the village, because she is working with people from each of those communities and bringing them together to achieve clean water and sanitation for all.
The Future
With the seed grants that Bhagani recently received, including the Reynolds grant, she plans to carry out her first beta testing. The biggest challenge for her at the moment is having an adequate source of funding to collect data.
“It’s kind of a chicken-and-egg situation because we need more evidence of this product working in practicality in communities so that we can apply for more grants to sustain us, but without the grants it’s difficult to go out into the communities to actually grow these projects with that seed money,” said Bhagani.
With the little funding that she currently has received, she plans to establish the purifiers in at least two or three communities. Bhagani will continue checking on the units to get enough data so she can apply for larger grants and potentially work with philanthropies like the Gates Foundation. She also hopes to conduct more research on its effectiveness through beta testing in communities.
“In five years’ time, I hope to have conducted at least ten beta tests in Mombasa, and have expanded the venture all across Kenya. My intention is to begin applying for larger grants by that time so that we can expand to other countries around the world,” said Bhagani.
Additionally, she plans to collaborate with other Aga Khan academies in Hyderabad, India and Maputo, Mozambique. That collaboration could build on student organizations that can work with the rural communities that they already engage with.
Her long-term plan is to create a sustainable community, which not only bridges the urban/rural divide but also allows families to provide for themselves.
This spotlight is republished courtesy of AKF USA.
Nanjiba Sayara: Teaching students in Bangladesh to recycle plastic
My desire was realised through the grade 10 International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Programme (MYP) personal project, a community project that focuses on service learning through practical exploration and a cycle of inquiry, action and reflection. As part of my personal project, I went to a village school in Bangladesh where I taught a group of about 20 students how to recycle plastic bottles, and the importance of such an activity. I chose to focus on this, because recycling plastic is needed to keep our environment safe and it’s a fun activity that would keep the students interested. Please click here to see a video of my experience at the village school.
I was privileged to work with those students, as they were very enthusiastic to learn and contribute. Spending one day with children from different backgrounds made me a better communicator. My parents and I have always believed that extracurricular activities are as important as academics because they contribute to being a balanced individual. I am happy to have done this activity at the village school because it made learning enjoyable and therefore memorable.
The IB MYP personal project was challenging, educational and exciting. My parents always ask me to share my happiness and knowledge with others because it might brighten up someone’s day. I believe my session at the village school accomplished this, so I wish to continue sharing my knowledge, what I have learned and will continue to learn, with my society.
Tanya Kakkade: Chasing Big Dreams
Limitless opportunity and a chance to excel can provide the motivation for even the young to do whatever it takes to improve their lives. Grade eight student Tanya Kakkade believes that her education and growth at the Aga Khan Academy, Hyderabad will enable her to pick and choose from the top universities in the world.
The attraction of those possibilities drove her to leave her previous school in Chennai and come to Hyderabad. “I’d always wanted to join a residential school, but the Academy hadn’t been built last year and no grade eight program. This school has a lot of opportunities once you finish; it has a good way of learning and gives you leadership qualities.”
She likes the fact that the AKA doesn’t just focus on education and career development but also on becoming well-rounded adults, encouraging students to participate in a number of activities. Tanya also enjoys being able to try new things at the school during her free time and participating in clubs that will help her in the future, including theatre and publications.
“I want to become a layer; I enjoy fighting for rights and arguing. I can imagine myself getting out of school and getting a lot of job offers or applying for top universities.”
While Tanya left her family behind in Chennai, she hasn’t felt that going to school in Hyderabad has been particularly challenging.
“The school is like a family, so you don’t always miss home [and] they never make us feel homesick. My parents miss me a lot but they say that it’s for [my] education and the AKA is the best school so [they] sacrifice a little fear for [my] good future.”
With her passion for human rights, it’s obvious that Tanya has the makings of a successful professional in the legal field. “I’ve not decided yet, but I’d like to become a business lawyer. I always wanted to go [overseas], maybe apply to a lot of universities and pick from the best.”
In Tanya’s mind, regardless of her future plans, her experiences at the Aga Khan Academy have begun to give her a foundation that she can be proud of.
Jimnah Kimani David: Promoting diversity through sports
“I think one of the biggest assets the Academy has is the diverse cultural background in the student body. Having players coming from all over the world from so many walks of life adds a unique element to playing as a team.”
Coach Jimnah Kimani At the Aga Khan Academy (AKA) Mombasa, Jimnah Kimani David wears a lot of different hats. He is the administrative assistant to the vice principal Diploma Progamme, the assistant sports coordinator, as well as a year 6 mentor. However, he is probably best known on campus in his capacity as the open boys’ basketball team coach.
Early in his life, Jimnah had never planned to coach a high school basketball team. “I was originally going to go into accounting,” he said. “I later realised I wanted to work with people, and more importantly, with children, which is why I decided to go into education.”
However, he was not entirely inexperienced in his capacity as a basketball coach. Before he graduated in 1999, Jimnah had already begun helping out his high school basketball coach at Mombasa Baptist High School. He was initially taken on as an informal translator for their Texan coach, Stan Littleford, but he quickly became a valuable mentor and role model for the younger players on the team. From then, he grew from strength to strength, eventually leading his team to win two national titles as a player, and one as a coach in 2007.
His stellar coaching skills did not go unnoticed. In the 2012–2013 off-season, Jimnah was approached to take on a role coaching the AKA Mombasa open boys’ basketball team. “I felt I had proven myself as a coach with Mombasa Baptist. But they are an established, well-known basketball school. I relished the challenge of taking on a fresh team and starting with them from scratch.”
Jimnah joined the Academy in August 2012. He had learned about the school from his brother Charles Mwangi Waweru, who attended the Academy and graduated in 2009. “What drew me to the institution was the commitment the Academy had to providing facilities for excellent education to students from all backgrounds,” he reflects.
