Admissions closing
For more details, please contact admissions department (admissions.maputo@agakhanacademies.org)
PYP - Dual Language approach
Parent's session on 8th Feb 2019 at 8:00am at the AKA Maputo.
MYP open day
on April 5th 2019. For more details, please email at admissions.maputo@agakhanacademies.org
Term break
AKA Maputo will be closed from 5 October to 19 October for term break. Enjoy your holidays!
Grade 9s take the Getty Challenge
In one of the last few exercises of this academic year, students from Grade 9 took up the Getty Challenge and produced frames that paid homage to great works of art like Mona Lisa and The Son of Man.
Taniya Dharani - alumna returned as visual arts fellow
“The Academy has made me the person I am today,” she says. “I wanted to give back to the Academy what it has given me.” After graduating from the Diploma Programme, Taniya went on to pick up a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Reading, England. In her current role at the Academy, Taniya wants to help visual arts students prepare for university level art courses. It’s also on her agenda to introduce art students to careers in their field that they might not have considered.
“I want to help give our Diploma Programme art students theoretical practice that will be useful at university,” she says. “I also want to help visual art students understand what opportunities the art world outside holds for them; artistic pathways they can opt for including business and law options in sectors that not everyone is aware of.”
Though she has her task laid out in front of her, returning to the Academy in her new role is understandably strange for Taniya. “I still feel like a student at heart,” she says. “But I’ve learnt to act like a teacher and take responsibilities.” Taniya understands that her experience as a student at the Academy puts her in a unique place of understanding in her current role as teacher. “I feel privileged to have the opportunity to see Academy life from a different light this time. Now I understand the day to day challenges teachers face, as well as the hardships of student life.”
Taniya fondly remembers her time as a student at the Academy. When she graduated, Taniya was the only student in the visual arts department. “I really enjoyed visual arts in school. Being the only student, I had the entire art studio and Ms. Meenakshi to myself.” She is referring to Meenakshi Joshi, who is now MYP coordinator in the Senior School. She also remembers history classes with Koel Ray, and service opportunities at old age homes and government schools that taught her humility and empathy.
However, her most cherished memory at the Academy is meeting His Highness the Aga Khan. At the inauguration ceremony of the Academy in 2014, Taniya had the opportunity to show and discuss her art work with HH. “It was the most precious gift that I ever received and a memory that has helped me hold onto my passion.”
In her personal life, Taniya cites her father as her source of inspiration. It is a common trope that parents discourage their children from pursuing a career in the arts, but this wasn’t the case for Taniya. “Despite people not understanding my passion for painting, he [Taniya’s father] always stood by me and helped me achieve my goals,” she says. Taniya is also proud of her father’s efforts in community service and the life he has led. “His struggles and achievements inspire me. It makes me want to do great things.”
“Growing up I realised that the only thing that ignited a fire in me was holding a paintbrush in my hands and dropping paint all over my clothes. It made me feel like all is well in my world, even when almost everything in life was falling apart.” Taniya is in some ways a time capsule from the Academy’s early years, and like a time capsule, she reminds us of things that have changed, and also about the things that have remained the same.
Written by Ajay Sundaram
Nabil Patel: photographer par excellence and published author
Qamili Dave (Class of 2017): Mastering the art of cooking
Qamili Dave is a passionate culinary arts professional from Mombasa, Kenya who graduated from the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa in 2017, which she joined in Year 1.
For Qamili, being part of the Academy was such an interesting and enriching experience - something she is always appreciative of as it shaped her to be the person she is today. For one, the open and trusting environment cultivated at the Academy helped to elevate her self-confidence as she fondly recalls, “The Academy really helped me to stand up for myself. I felt so safe asking teachers questions and they always encouraged it.” Joining college, she would continue to carry herself with the same confidence, eventually running and winning to become Student Council President at Boma International Hospitality College for two terms.
If there’s one accomplishment Qamili is really proud of during her time at the Academy, it is the exciting opportunity she was afforded to intern at the Serena Beach Hotel Mombasa through the Aga Khan Development Network Internship Programme. This chance, she says, defined the course of her career and future as it is where she became certain about pursuing a career in culinary arts. “Although I knew I loved to cook, I wasn’t sure it was the right profession for me. However, during my internship I realised I was on the right path. It was hands down the biggest stepping stone to my career because I learnt almost all the basics and this made college a breeze,” says Qamili. “The experience also introduced me to the real working environment; how to formally interact with people and some of the challenges I would face while working. All in all, I really enjoyed it.”
Although she has had to move back home to Mombasa after graduating college because of the impact COVID-19 has had on the hospitality industry, Qamili says this has in fact been a blessing in disguise. She has used this time to complete two online Harvard courses - ‘Science & Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to Soft Matter Science’ in both chemistry and physics. She has also dedicated this time to grow her food page (@chaqula_) on Instagram and explore recipes from different cultures. In addition, Qamili has been helping out her parents with their advertising and signage business ‘Eyecatchers & Daughters’, which she says has taught her a lot about running a business.
“It’s been eye opening and refreshing,” Qamili says of the experiences.
Having found what she believes to be her calling in life, the thing that Qamili loves most about being a chef is preparing a good satisfying meal that warms the hearts of people, especially her loved ones.
For her words of wisdom to current students at AKA Mombasa, Qamili says: “I would tell them to appreciate their teachers and everyone supporting them. I would also tell them to work smart; to be effective and efficient in everything that they do. Lastly, I would advise them to take advantage of the internship opportunities provided by the Academy to get as much exposure as they can as this will really give them insight on the career path that is right for them.”
