In May this year, just before the eLearning Africa conference, a diverse group of eLearning professionals from across the globe will join their African colleagues to climb Mount Meru, in Tanzania, as part of the EAST Challenge. The aim of the challenge is to raise scholarship funding for low-income African teachers and education professionals to attend the eLearning Africa conference in Dar es Salaam from the 25th to the 27th of May.
eLearning Africa has made a major contribution towards transforming the lives and prospects of many ordinary Africans by encouraging the sharing of knowledge, expertise and best practice about technology-enhanced education. There are thousands of educators throughout Africa, however, who can’t afford to travel to the event and thus miss out on the opportunity to learn, share ideas, network and discuss the many exciting new initiatives in education, which are beginning to make a real difference in many parts of Africa.
The East Challenge team has decided, therefore, to try to help by raising enough money to fund a series of bursaries. This is the first in a programme of initiatives being organised by the EAST Trust (www.easttrust.org), a registered Kenyan charity, to support education-related projects in Africa.
The organisers of the event, Dr. Harold Elletson and Bjorn Everts said: ‘We plan to make the EAST Challenge an annual event, providing a unique opportunity to get involved and make a direct contribution to supporting our African colleagues and enhancing the quality of education in Africa.’
Mount Meru is Africa’s fourth highest mountain and the climb will take four days. It will be strenuous and challenging but without the extra altitude problems of Kilimanjaro. The route will offer the team an opportunity to look at some interesting flora and fauna and traverse the spectacular crater rim on the way to the summit. Team members are confident that they will to raise significant amounts to help many deserving educators from all over Africa to enjoy the benefits of eLearning Africa. The trip will start out from Arusha on the 16th of May.
This project is an important opportunity to make a direct contribution towards spreading the benefit of education throughout Africa. You can make a personal donation to the EAST Challenge with as little as 10 Euros by clicking the link below.
There is currently a waiting list for this event. However, if you would like to join the Mount Meru EAST Challenge, please contact us at info@easttrust.org and we will update you with further details.
