Survival and Resilience
A message from our Co-Founder and CEO, Elizabeth Dearborn Hughes
Dear friends,
We spent years preparing for 2020, the Akilah Decennial and launch of our co-ed Davis College campuses in Asia and Africa. The pandemic turned our plans upside down, and pushed us to the brink of survival.
In March, the Rwandan Ministry of Education closed schools and we quickly pivoted. Our team redesigned our courses for online delivery, trained faculty in digital pedagogy, and distributed tablets and modems to 1,000 students who had returned to their rural communities.
Due to reneged pledges, cancelled events, and the pause on our global expansion, we lost 70% of our funding. Countless Akilah alumni became unemployed due to the lockdown. Our student financing partner lost their funding and was unable to provide income share agreements to our incoming class. As a result, 1,300 accepted students had to put their dreams on hold and defer enrollment until financing is available. They were devastated.
We had no choice but to lay off one-third of our team and enact painful salary and budget cuts.
Despite the disappointment, we learned that a crisis is the best way to test your organizational culture.
Many schools would have been brought to their knees by what we experienced this year. Our team creatively navigated one challenge after the next. It pushed us to our limits.
It has been a transformative season of institutional learning and awakening.
In the face of great uncertainty, we are resilient. We stayed true to our values of servant leadership and radical transparency. We navigated a tenuous balance of financial crisis with a commitment to supporting our students in every way possible.
I have never been more proud of our community.
The rapid launch of online courses with a lean budget required a herculean effort from our faculty. We initially feared that students would struggle with the drastic transition.
Yet, nearly 90% of Akilah students completed their third trimester online, and the Rwandan government applauded our work as an outstanding model of online competency-based education.
We launched Davis College and expanded our life-changing academic model to male students. While Akilah remains a nurturing environment for female leaders, it was a joyful milestone to welcome our first co-ed intake of students. After seven months of online learning, our campus re-opened in October with 1,200 Davis and Akilah students.
Akilah comes from the Swahili word for wisdom. As educators, we strive not only to teach technical skills but to also instill students with the wisdom to become compassionate, authentic, and resilient leaders who can navigate an increasingly complex world.
Here are the three most important lessons from this year:
1. The present moment is all we ever have.
Everything is impermanent. All that arises passes away. Seasons change. Trying to control life is futile. Cultivating a sense of presence and acceptance allows us to find joy in the little things and navigate each day with gratitude.
2. Fuel with love.
My source of energy has often been anger and sadness about injustice. It has driven me to take action. The problem is that this energy comes from a place of void. It’s never enough. If we operate from void, we get stuck in disappointment and shame. During challenging times, we must be intentional about drawing our energy from love and creativity, not anger or fear.
3. Wisdom is forged in fire.
True transformation often occurs during times of struggle. We all know people who exude radiant joy and playfulness as they interact with the world. What they have in common are not easy, pain-free lives. Rather, they have faced tremendous hardship and emerged stronger, with serene wisdom and positivity.
Your steadfast belief in our community has reminded us of our resilience. Thanks to you, we have persevered. Amidst the hardship, our vision for the launch of Davis College has still come to life.
While we carry on with our commitment to our students, we need your help. We remain in an extremely precarious financial position, and we rely on your generous gifts to support the students and educators of this beloved institution.
We need to raise $250,000 to support our 1,200 students to complete this academic year. This will ensure that no student is left behind because of their circumstances in the midst of a tremendously difficult year.
This holiday season, will you help us weather this storm and support the next generation of wise changemakers and leaders of East Africa? Every gift matters.
Thank you for walking alongside our team and students during this tumultuous time. We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to spend every day in service of our students. I hope that you and your loved ones stay safe and healthy this holiday season.
With deep gratitude,
Elizabeth Dearborn Hughes
Co-Founder & CEO
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At $3,000 per year, student tuition covers only 25% of the cost of a Davis College and Akilah education. Yet, the affordable cost of a Davis College or Akilah education still remains out of reach for many students, especially this year.
Your investment will allow more students to become global citizens, and lead transformational change in their communities and countries. Donate now.