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BUREAU FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH, PARTNERSHIPS
AND INNOVATION (IPI)
LOCAL, FAITH, AND TRANSFORMATIVE PARTNERSHIPS HUB
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AMERICAN SCHOOLS AND HOSPITALS ABROAD
(ASHA) INITIATIVE
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OCTOBER 2023
PHOTO CREDIT: U.S. EMBASSY ZAMBIA - U.S. SECRETARY OF EDUCATION MIGUEL CARDONA VISITIED LUBUTO COMBONI LIBRARY IN APRIL, A PUBLIC LIBRARY IN KANYAMA, ZAMBIA SUPPORTED BY FUNDING FROM USAID ASHA. CARDONA TOOK TIME TO VISIT THE LIBRARY AND READ TO SOME LOCAL CHILDREN WHILE LEADING THE U.S. DELEGATION AT THE SUMMIT FOR DEMOCRACY 2023. READ MORE BELOW
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ASHA HOLDS PRODUCTIVE 2023 PARTNERS MEETING |
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The 2023 American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA) Limited Excess Property Program (LEPP) Partners Meeting took place virtually via Zoom from March 13–15, 2023.
The overarching theme for the meeting was “ASHA, LEPP, and Localization.” Each day highlighted Partner achievements and broadly encompassed the following topics:
- Day 1 - The Changing Landscape for Localization and Public Diplomacy, and Awards Management Tips
- Day 2 - Partner Regional Sharing and USAID Mission Perspectives
- Day 3 - Localization Measures, Beneficiaries, and Outreach
Over 175 ASHA and LEPP Partners and USAID staff heard presentations from: Adam Phillips, former IPI/LFT Hub Director; Amanda Vigneaud, IPI/LFT/FBNP Initiative Lead; Bryan Pittman, USAID Engineering Group; and Danielle Pearl, the Evidence & Learning Team Lead in the IPI LFT Hub.
The latest updates on ASHA, recordings of presentations and materials, including a wide array of video success stories can be found on the partner meeting website.
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ASHA KENYAN SCHOOL PARTNER LAUNCHES PROJECT AND HOLDS FIRST GRADUATION |
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 PHOTO CREDIT: JENNIFER DEBOER - AN OFFICIAL LAUNCH AND SCHOOL GRADUATION CEREMONY WAS HELD IN AUGUST FOR THE TUMAINI INNOVATION CENTER IN ELDORET, KENYA.
The Tumaini Innovation Center, a community-based organization in Eldoret, Kenya was officially launched in August. The school has partnered with ASHA and the Purdue Applied Research Institute’s Global Development and Innovation division on a four-year, $1.6 million project called Jenga Engineers for Life.
The project will create an engineering innovation campus to accommodate approximately 300 Kenyan youths annually. It will include construction of solar-powered classrooms; a demonstration, training and virtual exchange space; dormitory and commons buildings; and workshops equipped for hands-on learning and manufacturing of engineering innovations.
Since the inception of the Jenga project in 2015, Tumaini has sought to harness innovative, engineering-based teaching to transform the lives of Kenya’s street youth.
The launch celebration welcomed over 200 guests from the community, including parents of graduates, the local chief, Director of Children Services, and representatives from Moi University and AMPATH Kenya (a partnership between Moi University, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, North American universities led by Indiana University, and the Kenyan Government) as well as Purdue.
The event also celebrated the graduation of Tumaini’s first three graduating classes (96 students) who had been unable to celebrate previously due to COVID19 restrictions.
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ASHA’S GORDON WEYNAND RETIRES AFTER
30 YEARS OF PUBLIC SERVICE
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Gordon Weynand, who served as the ASHA Partnership Initiative Lead since 2020, officially retired this year after more than 30 years of public service. Gordon led the past three ASHA/LEPP Partners Meetings to help Partners navigate the federal funding process while showcasing videos and stories of inspirational life-changing outcomes that ASHA has helped accomplish.
Raymond Jennings, who is familiar to many ASHA Partners through his work as an AOR, is the Acting ASHA Lead.
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EDUCATION SECRETARY CARDONA VISTIS
LUBUTO LIBRARY IN ZAMBIA
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While leading the U.S. delegation at the 2023 Summit for Democracy in April, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona visited the ASHA-funded Lubuto Comboni Library, a public library in Kanyama, Zambia.
Secretary Cardona read one of his favorite books to the children and they helped him identify the animals and their colors. The library community then put on a dance performance for Cardona and U.S. Ambassador to Zambia Michael Gonzales.
Lubuto Library Partners, which started in Zambia, provides a framework for libraries serving young people, exemplifying public libraries’ unique ability to include children and youth who are highly vulnerable and out of school in sub-Saharan Africa. Lubuto Library has been an ASHA partner since 2015.
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ASHA PARTNER SPOTLIGHT
ORGANIZATION FOR TROPICAL STUDIES
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 PHOTO CREDIT: OTS. LA SELVA RESEARCH STATION IN COSTA RICA.
The Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS) is a consortium of approximately 55 universities, colleges, and research institutions in the U.S., Costa Rica, and throughout the world with the mission of providing leadership in education, research, and the responsible use of natural resources in the tropics. For more than 50 years, OTS’ main operations and staff have been located in Costa Rica, where OTS is legally incorporated as an “institution of public interest” and is officially known as the Organización para Estudios Tropicales (OET). OET has been a world leader in research on tropical ecosystems for more than a half century.
Each year its largest research station, La Selva, provides thousands of students and scientists from the U.S., Costa Rica, and Latin America with cutting-edge laboratory facilities, large-scale research instruments, classrooms, herbarium and insect collections, and access to a ‘living laboratory’ of 1,615 hectares of protected rainforest. More than 4500 scientific publications have been generated over La Selva’s 48-year history.
Most recently, ASHA awarded OTS $621,000 to renovate and upgrade several facilities on the campus, improve overall energy efficiency and install solar panels to increase sustainability and reduce conventional energy costs.
Earlier this year, OTS staff conducted a virtual tour of the La Selva Research Station for ASHA staff in Washington, DC to see firsthand how the recent improvements are improving the educational opportunities they can offer.
Watch a new success story video about the Organization for Tropical Studies here.
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Locally Led Development Initiatives are part of the Local, Faith, and Transformative Partnerships (LFT) Hub.
The LFT Hub focuses on strengthening USAID’s ability to partner with non-traditional and diverse actors including local, faith-based, and community organizations; schools and hospitals; foundations; diaspora communities; cooperatives; and volunteer organizations. Learn more about how LFT is harnessing the power of partnerships through the following:
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