ACEI branch in Kenya, East Africa.

In August 2003, ACEI member Tata Mbugua traveled to Kenya for two purposes: to conduct research on early childhood education in Kenya and to establish an ACEI Branch. The latter effort would complete a process that had been initiated a year earlier by the ACEI Student Branch of the University of Scranton, Pennsylvania, for which she is the adviser.

The establishment of the ACEI Kenya Branch was received with great enthusiasm by both faculty and students at Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya. The Branch is housed in the Department of Early Childhood Education at Kenyatta University. To assist in the start-up process, copies of back issues of Childhood Education were delivered, as well as a Branch start-up kit, courtesy of Marilyn Gardner, Director of Membership.

Initial feedback indicates that this initiative is beneficial to both institutions in terms of fostering collaboration between the students and faculty. More important, the initiative provides opportunities for scholarship and for dissemination of Childhood Education and other related documents to the wider community of scholars in Kenya.

At the student-to-student level, the University of Scranton Branch Executive Board has been instrumental in ongoing discussions and exchange of ideas about the logistical procedures of establishing a Student Branch. Efforts are underway to establish a Web site for the ACEI Kenya Student Branch.

This is an exemplary initiative that fosters global partnerships of likeminded professionals dedicated to the promotion of a holistic child-centered approach to education.