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DP students in Kenya visit Rwanda, to bring learning to life
Since the 1994 Rwandan genocide, the country is working together to help rebuild itself. Currently, every able-bodied Rwandan citizen between the ages of 18 and 65 must take part in community service for three hours once a month.
IB Diploma Programme (DP) students from The Aga Khan Academy Mombasa, in Kenya, travelled 700 miles to offer their services, too.
As part of the individuals and societies course, 12 DP students at Aga Khan Academy (AKA) recently visited Rwanda to engage with local communities to aid development. They worked with the Rwanda Development Board and the Rwanda Youth Hostel facilities to encourage employment and revenue generation.
The learning expedition, entitled: Mille Collines (translated into a journey over a ‘thousand hills’) illustrates the interdisciplinary understanding within the individuals and societies course as it focuses on history, geography and economics.
Bhagirathy Jhingran, Head of Department: Individuals and Societies MYP and DP, says: “Our students go and merge themselves in the landscape, in an unassuming manner. The idea is to soak in and develop a deeper understanding of a country through the various lenses of ‘individuals and societies’. The students learned engagement, the art of conversation, empathy and appreciating another person’s point of view.
“They now evaluate and attempt an explanation which is interdisciplinary,” adds Jhingran. “The expeditions give students an opportunity to acquire and practise the IB learner profile attributes. Some students even go back to Rwanda as alumni and work with various NGOs.
“We have realized that such learning help us discover our own truths, understand issues and spaces with our own senses, and construct our personal knowledge about a shared understanding of different lands and its people. They take us one step closer to realizing the ideals of the AKA Learner Profile of being stewards and leaders of the shared future of all humanity.”
This article is part of a series of stories from IB World magazine that bring to life the wonderful initiatives undertaken by IB students and educators from around the globe. Follow these stories on Twitter @IBorganization #IBcommunitystories. Share your great stories and experiences: email editor@ibo.org.