African Canadian Continuing Education Society (ACCES)

Qui sommes-nous

The African Canadian Continuing Education Society (ACCES) is a registered Canadian charity incorporated in British Columbia, Canada in 1993 and located in Vancouver, B.C. Canada.
The mission of ACCES is "to provide Africans with the tools and education necessary to benefit themselves and their society."

The cornerstone of our approach is our statement of principles which informs our overall methodology:
• Respect for another culture: ACCES will not seek to impose Canadian cultural values.
• Sustainability: ACCES strives to help other people to help themselves; Kenyanization.
• Gender Equality: ACCES programs provide equal opportunity to female and male persons.
• Efficient administration: 100% of donations to ACCES for its programs are used for those programs. Funds for administration are raised by the ACCES Board through designated private donations.

ACCES has been helping young Kenyans obtain the skills and education needed to benefit themselves and their society through: post-secondary scholarships; secondary scholarships; primary schools; health, gender and HIV/AIDS awareness; and small business and agricultural training.

Programs:
• Post-secondary Scholarship Program: ACCES provides partial scholarships to the brightest Kenyan students from the most vulnerable backgrounds, ensuring that they are able to complete their full course of studies.
• ACCES Alumni Association: A group of ACCES supported graduates who believe it's important to give back to their communities by sponsoring other students to attend school. On average, each graduate helps at least seven others to attend a secondary or post-secondary school.
• Community Health Program: ACCES partnering with District Education Offices to implement community health programs out of the local primary school. Programs such as community medical camps. ACCES partners with local hospitals, health clinics and medical universities to provide community members with doctors and health workers to diagnose, treat, dispense medicines and even refer serious cases to specialists as appropriate. ACCES also introduces other local organizations to the community that are engaged in beneficial work such as agriculture, micro-finance, and HIV/AIDS, in order to enhance the work being done, and to ensure the greatest possible results.
• Jigger Program: Jigger infestation is one of the biggest health challenges in Kenya, keeping thousands of poor rural children out of school. Jigger eradication is one of the key pillars of the Community Health Program, to not only eliminate the menace among the stricken, but to find out-of-school children and get them enrolled in school. ACCES conducts jigger eradication events hosted at rural public primary schools in areas with high infestation rates. As multiple families come for treatment, out-of-school children are enumerated, and enrolled at the school. Each of their families is then followed up with a household fumigation and treatment, as well as training on how to stay jigger-free.
• Gender Program: ACCES not only ensures that girls get an education, but that their mothers and grandmothers are able to learn, generate income and take part in community governance. Gender clubs, women´s self-help groups and leadership training all contribute to the achievement of these objectives. In addition, ACCES promotes gender equality through the provision of post-secondary scholarships to high acheiving females, maintaining a gender balance of ACCES supported university students. ACCES also hires local female staff to positions of authority.

Dale Albertson is the Executive Director of the African Canadian Continuing Education Society (ACCES).

For other net participants we can offer an expert guidance through trained staff, give an expert opinion, procure expert information and establish new contacts in the field of our work.