The EAST Challenge took place shortly before the eLearning Africa conference this year. Dr Harold Elletson of the United Kingdom and Fatou Ndiaye of Senegal spearheaded the trek up Mount Meru in Tanzania, Africa’s fourth highest mountain, as part of an effort to raise money from friends, family and eLA supporters for scholarships for low-income African educators to attend eLearning Africa. eLearning Africa would like to say thank you to those who contributed to the EAST Challenge in 2011.
The initiative of the eLearning Africa Scholarship Trust (EAST), which raised several thousand euros, is the first of a number of similar schemes linked to eLearning Africa, which aim to raise finance for African education projects.
“It was an exhausting climb but well worth it,” said Dr Elletson. “The variety of wildlife and vegetation on Mount Meru is extraordinary and the views are magnificent. I am delighted that we were able to enjoy all this and to help some very deserving African colleagues at the same time.”
“It was a great experience,” Fatou Ndiaye added. “Discovering how fantastic, complex and extremely beautiful the nature is on Mount Meru, while supporting African participation in the most relevant event in Africa in the field of ICT for Education and Training, gave us the energy to climb the narrow mountain paths.”
Josephine Waniku Ngunjiri, currently a researcher in Applied Parasitology at the University of Nairobi, Kenya was one of the young talents selected to benefit from the eLearning Africa Scholarship Trust.
“I would like to thank you so much for making my attendance at eLearning Africa 2011 a reality. It has been an educative, interactive and revolutionary event for me,” she wrote to the organisers.
“I have been able to appreciate the use of ICT in a learning and teaching setting through the use of various up-to-date resources such as simulations or 3D. The segment on health has enabled me to view research in a different perspective.
“The motivation provided by the speakers in different sessions and plenaries, especially in the opening plenary, has been so encouraging. It has encouraged my capacity building in our communities, and I will share what I have learned with them in order to improve not only the health sector The motivation provided by the speakers in different sessions and plenaries, especially in the opening plenary, has been so encouraging. It has encouraged my capacity building in our communities, and I will share what I have learned with them in order to improve the health sector and promote entrepreneurial skills.
“It was a great experience.”
