Working with schools in Africa
We
advise you read through all this section before partnering in
Africa.
If you simply want fresh, first-hand
information about life in a country such as Kenya or Ghana, you
should think twice about whether you really want a link. Up-to-date
'real' resources are readily available:
A partnership with a school in Africa should
be envisaged as a long-term commitment. If you look through
messages on the Global Gateway you will see most are seeking a
partner school with which to build a partnership over time.
FAQs about linking in African countries
| Schools from Africa registering on the Global Gateway are told
the partnership must have an educational focus, but many give a
clear expectation that they would like to receive assistance in
kind or through sponsorship, which is expressed in their message.
For instance some have a support scheme to fund children that
cannot afford school fees. Others are keen to receive text books,
computers or (one school found out recently) a roof! |
| In development education, this notion of charity is being
replaced by a duty to work towards ending poverty and asserting
basic human rights. The important thing is to manage expectation
and try not to set up a donor-recipient partnership – which will
result in thank-you letters rather than a frank and open
partnership where both schools work together to address such
needs. More>>> |
| Link
Community Development has been running for over 10 years and
runs development projects that support hundreds of twinned schools
in Ghana, Uganda, South Africa and Malawi. There is a lot of
freedom in how you run the link and the team is very experienced
with excellent support for the partner school. We list other NGO
managed linking schemes here. More>>> |
| Global Gateway linking is free. For a managed partnership you
can be linked free in some cases, or Link Community Development
charges from £550 pa to cover funding the programme in
the UK and in Africa and a significant percentage goes towards
supporting project work in Africa, therefore directly supporting
education in the country / area of the partner school. Plan-ed
charges £600 but offers comprehensive curricular support. When you
work with an NGO there is an expectation, though rarely a
requirement, that schools will fundraise, either directly for the
school or for the NGO. |
| Funding is available for your partnership
through DFID Global School Partnerships. First you will need to
find a partner school through Global Gateway or through a managed
link. |
| If you have paid a third party to organise your link, these
links are still eligible for funding. Please email globalschools@britishcouncil.org
outlining the organisation you would work with and your
objectives. |
| Schools have achieved this though you may find that the
partnership is not considered equitable and may not qualify for DFID
funding. Red Earth Education is a useful example to look at.
More>>> |
| If you want this sort of connection (rather
than a partnership), using the live webcasts offered at
www.papapaalive.org could be the
answer (minimal charge applies). |
|
You could link to Buhumba Primary School through contact with a
charity based there. Beans Means Brains runs a school meals
programme in Uganda and there are lots of ways you could relate
their story to healthy eating and children's rights themes.
|
| Read the messages on the Global Gateway carefully - all types
of schools at all levels of the socio-economic scale are
represented. A better resourced school may offer this. There are
some schools from Africa active on Rafiki (secondary) and on SuperClubsPlus
(primary) - both these are educational community networks
which will charge a reasonable annual fee for
participation. |
| Email exchange can often take place teacher to
teacher but only rarely learner to learner; especially if you are
looking for a rural or township school. If your partner school is
not internet enabled, you may be tempted to send computers; you
could also work with organisations that provide computers. Be
warned that this usually takes at least a year to organise, if at
all! More>>> |
| The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust's international
arm, iNet, is trialling a mechanism for this. More>>> |
| You should consider an organisation called AfriTwin
that has set out to meet the dual objectives of a well resourced
school and a township/rural school link. Please say you were
referred from the Global Gateway. More>>> |
| On the Global Gateway we usually have Cameroon and Rwanda,
Reunion and sometimes Morocco, all of which make terrific partner
schools. email us on partnerfinding@globalgateway.org |
