Aiducation International is one of Alison’s partners in making our goal of free worldwide education a reality. Through their Global Young Leaders Alliance (GYLA), Aiducation are empowering people around the world through education and skills training. GYLA president, Boniface Mahulo, spoke to the Alison blog about his experiences both as the GYLA president and as an Alison Learner.
Aiducation International is an NGO that believes that access to education is the key to empowering individuals and, by extension, their nations. Aiducation provides scholarships to bright students from underprivileged backgrounds in developing countries and through their Global Young Leaders Alliance (GYLA), also gives them the opportunity to use their education to contribute to the well-being of their country’s society.
Boniface Mahulo from Kenya, is both an Aiducation Alumnus and the President of GYLA: “GYLA is an international online network, consisting of Aiducation alumni, mentors and partners, that provides continuous learning and development for high performers from low-income families. GYLA offers them personalized guidance and exposure to opportunities. Currently, we have over 1000 active members from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana and the Philippines. Hopefully there are many more to join soon.”
GYLA helps Aiducation alumni to empower others via a series of alumni-led initiatives and projects, demonstrating both the immeasurable benefits of education and fulfilling Aiducation’s goal of helping individuals with an aim to benefitting society as a whole. Mahulo is proof that GYLA is succeeding in its aims: “Being elected the first GYLA President was a great honour as it gave me an opportunity to give back to the organization which has had a tremendous effect on who I am today. Personally, GYLA has had a great impact on my life by giving me access to various opportunities like free Alison courses, a free GetAbstract account and many more. I have also had an opportunity to expand my network as we have members from different parts of the world.”
In March 2020, like so many other organisations around the world, GYLA had to quickly adapt to pandemic conditions. The closure of universities threatened to disempower GYLA members and stall their journey out of poverty through education. In order not to fall behind in their studies, GYLA members requested access to online education platforms. This was where Alison came into the picture. By partnering with Alison, Aiducation were able to offer education and training to GYLA members throughout the pandemic.
“One of the amazing opportunities we had in GYLA this year was the partnership between Aiducation and Alison”, says Mahulo. “I have benefited from this personally as I have successfully completed three courses from Alison – Diploma in Human Resource, Supervision Skills – Managing Groups and Employee Interaction and Corporate Governance. The skills I acquired from these courses have had a tremendous impact on how I work with others and how I approach solving challenges at school and at work. Above all, I have expanded my knowledge of fields that I have always had a passion for. I want to thank Alison for giving us this great opportunity to continue learning and acquiring certificates for free, especially during this challenging time.”
Although it was a partnership forged in extremely difficult circumstances, Alison and Aiducation’s partnership is proving incredibly fruitful, as is clear from these testimonials from some of GYLA’s Alison’s graduates:
“It was such an amazing opportunity to take the Designing and Implementing Monitoring and Evaluating Systems course with Allison. I believe that, by applying the knowledge and skills I gained from this course, I will be able to see projects through to the end. I’m advising everyone I know to seize the opportunity to learn as much as they can from these courses.” – Ikras Muzoora, Uganda
“My course was Nursing Studies – Role of Nurse in Surgical Care. The course taught me many different things, such as the classifications of surgical procedure, types of surgery and pre-operative care. At the end of the course, I took the assessment and I passed! If you fail, you can repeat the assessment which is a great opportunity. I’ve learned a lot from the course and I believe I can advance even further. I’m grateful for this opportunity, thank you to all who made it possible!” – Denise Lisa Amunga, Uganda
“I was really impressed with the partnership that Aiducation started with Alison. As a student, the courses help me to gauge myself before the start of online classes in my school. They give me a chance to be productive and keep my mental sharpness. So far, I have completed two courses, and I am about to complete nine more. It’s been a good way to discover other teaching methods that work better for me.” – Aaron John Duque, Philippines
