• Featured Program: Nairobi, Kenya
• News from Abroad: AIDS Cases Declining
• Featured Excursion: Victoria Falls 
• Study Abroad News: English Invasion
• International Trivia Question

Why should you study in Nairobi?  

As the most populous city in East Africa, Nairobi has become a center for business and culture, as well as being a gateway to the beauty of Africa. Commonly referred to as the "Green City in the Sun," Nairobi is the ideal location for modern day African explorers, humanitarians and scholars to call home.

What can I study there?

KEI offers:

• African Business, Law & Diplomacy
• African Tourism & Hospitality Management
• Journalism, Communications & Mass Media
• Psychology, Sociology, & Human Behavior
• Environmental Studies & Management
• African Culture & Society

In addition to academic studies students are able to participate in a variety of internships with United Nations, International banks, Nairobi National Park, Red Cross and many others. Students will also have opportunity to participate in 3-6 day camping excursions to such places as Mombasa, Great Rift Valley, Mt. Kilimanjaro and Victoria Falls, among others.

See here for more info: www.KEIabroad.org. 

Kenya's steadily decreasing prevalence of AIDS cases opens opportunities for new funding

In late June the National AIDS Control Council in Kenya released statistics showing a drop in the country's AIDS rate. Now at 5.9 percent of the population, the reported cases of AIDS decreased from 6.1 percent in 2004 and are expected to continually decline. The agency predicts the rates could be as low as 5.5 percent by 2010.

The population of Kenya is currently about 35 million people and at least 1.5 million have died from AIDS since 1984. In the late 1990s the rates of HIV and AIDS infections peaked around 10 percent. Even more significant than the falling number of AIDS cases is the decline in new infections, which enjoyed at 30 percent decrease from 85,000 reported cases in 2004 to only 60,000 in 2005.

Along with the improvements in Kenya came a sizeable donation from the World Bank specifically dedicated to fighting AIDS, which the government claims kills hundreds daily. The credit for $80 million will go largely to the state run NACC in Kenya, which co-ordinates the activities of NGOs fighting AIDS. A smaller portion of the funds will be earmarked as grants to specific NGOs in the country. An early result of the funding has gone to allow public hospitals to administer the life-prolonging anti-retroviral drugs to HIV and AIDS patients free of charge.

Learn more about Kenya's fight against AIDS at    http://www.nacc.or.ke

Featured Excursion: Victoria Falls

Why visit Victoria Falls?

The spray can be seen rising into the air from miles away, and the noise is deafening from nearby. These characteristics were what led the Kololo tribe to refer to Victoria Falls as "Mosi-oa-Tunya," or "The smoke that thunders." Today the falls are more commonly known as the largest sheet of falling water in the world, which is what attracts nearly a million people annually. African explorer David Livingstone first heard of the falls in 1851, but it wasn't until 1857 that he saw it for himself. Of the experience, he wrote, "No one can imagine the beauty of the view from anything witnessed in England. It had never been seen before by European eyes, but scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight"

Some of the more popular sites and activities at Victoria Falls:      

• Victoria Falls Bridge, commissioned by Cecil Rhodes, who wanted "the spray of the falls over the train carriages" in 1904
• Whitewater rafting in the gorges, bungee jumping from the bridge, Game fishing, horse riding, kayaking, and flights over the falls
• See white rhinos and other wildlife at Mosi-oa-Tunya and Victoria Falls National Parks

Learn more about Victoria Falls at                                             http://www.zambiatourism.com/travel/places/victoria.htm

Study Abroad News: English Invasion 

Efforts to give students more mobility while studying in Europe bring increases in English-language taught programs

In 1999 several European countries gathered in Bologna, Italy to discuss the future of education in the European Union. What came out of these talks is known as the Bologna Process, a standardized system of higher education throughout Europe that aims to foster increased mobility in students.

"Bologna Degrees" are completed in three years and are roughly equivalent to the U.S. Bachelor's degree. However, simply standardizing curriculum and study duration has not proven to be enough. Several centers of higher learning have begun to increase the number of English-language taught programs.

Miriam Assefa, executive director of World Education - a non-profit organization specializing in foreign credential evaluation, told Inside Higher Ed, "when they decided to open their systems internationally, it was thought that English-language taught programs would make the programs more accessible, because the students don’t necessarily come equipped in German or Dutch or French – particularly if they wish to attract students from beyond Europe."

Current programs are mostly in business, science and engineering, but the range is expanding. Even France, known for its stolidity regarding English, has published a 206 page guide to programs taught in the language.

Read more about the Bologna Process at http://www.bologna2009benelux.org

International Trivia Question
When did Kenya gain independence from British colonial rule?

[The first 2 people who e-mail KEI with the correct answer will win a money belt. When submitting your answer, please include your mailing address, email and telephone number. Hint: The answer can be found on KEI's website...]