Ivy Tech Partnering on Water Safety Effort
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIvy Tech Community College is partnering with a Louisville-based company to provide online water safety education to students in Kenya. The school has been working with WaterStep to develop an online version of the organization's health and hygiene course. November 19, 2014
News Release
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Ivy Tech Community College and WaterStep have entered into a partnership to deliver online Health and Hygiene training to prepare students to educate local communities about safe water solutions in Nairobi, Kenya.
Over the past several months, staff from Ivy Tech Corporate College and Ivy Tech Online have worked with WaterStep subject matter experts to convert their face-to-face Health and Hygiene course into an online modality that allows the Louisville-based organization the opportunity to provide such training anywhere in the world with internet access by computer, tablet or smart phone.
Kenya was selected as the first country to receive the online course by WaterStep and it is anticipated that the course will be expanded to other countries in the future. Participants enrolled in the course are students of the Institute of Social Ministry in Mission, Tangaza University, and enrolled as a part of their requirements for the Sustainable Human Development degree program. The Institute, a faith-based organization, focuses on training for the fields of community development, project management, leadership, conflict resolution and social advocacy for justice.
“We are both excited and passionate about partnering with WaterStep for this particular project, as we know it will improve lives in Nairobi by training the citizens of this part of Africa about how to deliver training for safe drinking water practices,” said Dr. Jeff Pittman, Vice President of Corporate College and Online Education for Ivy Tech. “We are thankful for the involvement of the Institute of Social Ministry and the students enrolled in the course, as they will be armed with knowledge that will enable them to enter under-developed regions around Nairobi to teach life-saving skills on how to make available water sources for use, as well as engage citizens in proper hygiene techniques to prevent illness from sources beyond unsafe water.”
Edwin Oketch, one of the students enrolled in the Health and Hygiene course, states “I am taking this degree program to build my skills and competency as an agent of social transformation in the community.”
“Incorporating Ivy Tech's progressive education technology, WaterStep's vast training and field experience with the passion to act among these college students in Nairobi, Kenya gives them the tools to empower their own communities. The collaboration creates a stirring in all of us because this work brings hope,” said Mark Hogg, Founder and CEO of WaterStep.
Students enrolled in the course are working with a WaterStep subject matter expert who is guiding them through the online modules of the Health and Hygiene course. The course is available to students through the Ivy Tech's Learning Management System – Blackboard.
WaterStep is a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) international organization that works to create solutions to the global water crisis and save lives with safe water. By combining training and simple equipment, WaterStep empowers people to provide safe and sustainable water, health and hygiene solutions to their own communities. Since 2001, WaterStep has improved the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in almost two dozen countries including Haiti, Kenya, India, the Dominican Republic, Pakistan, and Costa Rica. To learn more, call (502) 568-6342 or visit www.waterstep.org.
Ivy Tech Community College is the state's largest public postsecondary institution and the nation's largest singly accredited statewide community college system serving nearly 200,000 students annually. Ivy Tech has campuses throughout Indiana. It serves as the state's engine of workforce development, offering affordable degree programs and training that are aligned with the needs of its community along with courses and programs that transfer to other colleges and universities in Indiana. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association.
Source: Ivy Tech Community College