Urban

The project provides for the urban poor giving them a second chance to actively participate in their communities. It also enables those who can rejoin the formal system to do so whenever chance allows.

Unlike many educational programs, WISERBridge does not focus on resources like textbooks to increase educational outcomes. Instead, it focuses on the interaction between the key people involved in education, the teachers and the students. Master teachers at each primary school are provided with a supplemental incentive for teaching extra hours to prepare students for the KCPE exam. At each of the 11 primary schools now involved in the program, 7-8 extra hours of instructional time are added to the school week for Standard 8 students, with a heavy focus on the core subjects that will help students in secondary school – English, Mathematics and Kiswahili.

Selected by the headteachers to lead these revision courses, teachers are then kept accountable to the student results through a pay for performance metric. Teachers are expected to help their students grow a specified amount of points each term, and in turn, are rewarded when students achieve these measurable outcomes. While there have been several experiments to see the effects of pay for performance in Kenya, the focus on specific quantitative results, differentiated by the scores at the different primary schools, is unique. In addition, WISERBridge provides access to remedial revision courses for all students registered in Standard 8. There are no restrictions as to age, gender or geographic location. Thus, every child or adult enrolled in Standard 8 receives an ample opportunity to increase their performance.

Most importantly, WISERBridge has spawned other ideas for development within the division. Since communities in Muhuru Bay are held accountable to specific quantitative goals, many find innovative ways to improve the standard of education in the community. For example, in order to increase the amount of time students are able to revise at night, parents and schools have invested in solar lighting. The attitude of students, parents, and educators in the primary schools has shifted from hopeless to inspired, with educators and students competing against one another and working incredibly hard to achieve specific, measurable goals.

EcoPlayGround will work with Pittsburgh youth to design and create an interactive theatre/game that takes players on a journey as they explore an ecologically significant site in the city. With the guidance of a team of adults, a core creative group of youths will explore Pittsburgh’s ecology and the legacy of the region’s manufacturing industry and overlay their own perspective to devise a story about the world they will inherit. They will then turn their story into a game to be played by other youths in which narrative, clues, and instructions will be relayed via mobile phone—already the preferred mode of communication for today’s young audience.
As we evolve from passive media consumption into a culture of participation enabled by technology, existing art forms must adapt to youth interests and perspectives about the world. Projects that use games to develop interest and activism in tomorrow’s leaders will be critical to their success in confronting these complex issues.

The amphitheater will represent the living elements in our community by incorporating interactive, natural components such as raised bed planters and water features. It will manage storm water retention thru sculpted-earth design, rain catchment systems, a rain garden, and permeable turf and landscaped surfaces. Raised bed plantings will accommodate a variety of organically grown, edible plants including berry-producing bushes, sensory herbs, vegetables, and vibrant flowers. Vining gourds cultivated to become musical instruments will have the added benefit of a pleasing aesthetic during the growing season. Fruit trees will be woven together, eventually providing a naturally shaded cove encouraging contemplation of goals achieved and motivation for future projects. Students with technical inclinations may be interested in creating art that harnesses nature’s renewable resources, such as a solar powered LED security light. The amphitheater is innovative in that it will be a living organism providing our youth a much-needed reconnection with nature. By inheriting a space that will continue to grow and evolve thru the years largely because of their efforts, Wilkinsburg’s youth will awaken a sense of pride in themselves as stewards of the community and the planet. To further cement youth ownership and responsibility, progress will be documented photographically by kids and teens, then posted to a website. As volunteers from the Wilkinsburg community step forward to mentor our youth, it is our hope we will instill a desire for those touched by our efforts to continue the legacy.

Waste into Want will provide youth with the opportunity to help create a sculpture garden. Gardens are usually places designed by adults where youth are rarely invited to play. Our garden will be a place where young people can express themselves through the design and creation of sculptures and plant materials with the help of local Pittsburgh artists. They will decorate the path squares and planters and benches with paint and mosaics, and place the plants. The garden will teach youth to enjoy and respect public spaces and art, as well as provide a green refuge in an urban environment. The mosaics will be created with broken stained glass and tile donated by artists and bits of toys or mementos provided by the youth themselves. The use of recycled materials fosters environmental consciousness and encourages seeing the possibility in objects that would normally be cast away as trash.