Think Creative - Issue 5

Creative Life

a mission-driven community

Renuka Pillay, an education specialist, social change activist and so much more, served Creative for nearly 20 years.

Eileen St. George, a former teacher and Creative’s new VP of Education, on learning in conflict and progress in global education Insights on Education

Dedicated educator, courageous social activist, cherished colleague and beloved friend Celebrating the life and legacy of Renuka Pillay

Creative mourns the unexpected loss of our long- time colleague and friend Renuka Pillay (1959-2019). She was a multi-talented education specialist and activist for social change in Africa. Renuka actively engaged in the fight against Apartheid and devoted her 40-year career to increasing education opportunities and improving the lives of children, adolescents and adults across Africa, India, the U.K. and the U.S. She had been part of the Creative family since 2000, serving in Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia and elsewhere in Africa. Her colleagues described her as an inspiration, a visionary and a mentor, among other unforgettable qualities. We asked colleagues what they would like to remember and celebrate about her life.

“Renuka was deeply devoted across a 40-year career to increasing educational opportunity and improving lives. Words cannot capture the loss and sorrow we feel in these halls at Creative.” -Leland Kruvant, President and CEO “I personally knew Renuka when she was a very young woman filled with energy and filled with passion and love. Throughout the years, that is what she shared with us.” -Charito Kruvant, Founder and Board Chair “Renuka and I worked together for a decade. All these days, I learned a lot about Renuka. She was an excellent mentor, a professional coach, a mother and a teacher, even- tempered, flexible, a good listener and hungry to learn and to continue to grow.” -Tassew Zewdie, Chief of Party, Read II Ethiopia “I first met Renuka at graduate school at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Renuka was larger than life and I think anyone you spoke to at the university or here at Creative would agree.” -Joanie Cohen, Senior Advisor, Education

“Renuka and I worked together and traveled together and, best of all, laughed together in 10 countries on three continents during our 30-year friendship. What stands out for me is Renuka’s compassion. This quality drove both her professional commitment and also her personal relationships. She was a team player, never drawing attention to herself, but willing to lead from behind.” -Karen Tietjen, Senior Director, Education “Renuka was a dear friend to all of us at Creative and she did so much good around the world, especially in Africa and Uganda, which she loved.” -Earl Gast, Executive Vice President “Renuka was passionate about the work we undertook and especially about reaching girls through education, mitigating the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic among school-going children and youth, and finding the means to reach the most vulnerable children and youth affected by internal conflict within Uganda. Renuka’s sense of purpose was wrapped up in increasing the safety, security and hope for the brighter future for these children and youth.”

St. George in Irian Jaya province, Indonesia (currently known as Papua province), where she was conducting research on a World Bank-supported program in 1988.

1. What does it mean to edu- cate the whole learner? St. George: As the new U.S. Government education strategy articulates well, we know that educating a child goes well beyond the academics to be mastered. Children’s developmental and social-emotional needs are critical to setting them on a healthy and positive path to a productive and fulfilled adulthood. 2. What happens when chil- dren are displaced and/or out of school due to conflict? St. George: Our teams have wit- nessed the heartbreaking impact of conflict on children: children who have confronted horrors that have left them fragile, vulnerable and in some cases despondent. They face difficulties in reestab- lishing relationships, finding trust, regaining patterns of normal social engagement, recovering a sense of agency and empower- ment, rediscovering their sense of play and laughter, regaining the inner balance, reawakening to the world around them, learning and

making reason of where they are and where they want to go in life.

5. When you look at the places you have worked or are currently working, do you see progress? St. George: Oh definitely! Creative has had the privilege of working with Afghanistan’s Minis- try of Education for the better part of the last 16 years. When we first went in, there was no Ministry of Education functioning. People were sitting in the hallways sip- ping tea waiting for their jobs to be defined. And, now, they’re around the table shaping the policies, dictating their priorities, strength- ening their systems and advancing their mandate to reach more chil- dren. They are the drivers in our current efforts and we’re playing a very different type of role today in assisting them in advancing their journey. The capacity shift is palpable. Through the years they have brought millions of more kids back to school. Is there still work to be done? Yes. But Afghanistan is on that path. It’s unfortunate they must contend with such serious security risks in their efforts, but the capacity gains are there and they’re rewarding to see. n

3. What is Creative doing to address and mitigate those risks? St. George: Creative helps educa- tors, families, caregivers, youth and children grow in their under- standing of means to counter the effects of conflict, violence and insecurity. Creative engages them in activities and interactions that foster healing within themselves as well as contribute to the healing of those around them. We have also found that bringing communities together around educational solutions can be in and of itself a process of social healing if done thoughtfully, with patience and purpose. 4. How does Creative work to meet the unique needs of male and female learners? St. George: As a former special education teacher, I believe that every learner in a classroomhas unique needs. We help teachers understand various ways in which

Over her three decades of experience in education, St. George has worked across Africa, Central Asia and Asia. She is pictured here in 1998 reading with a group of children in Ethiopia.

unconscious bias emerges, the im- portance of differentiated teacher strategies and helping themfind strategies and solutions to become more impactful and equitable in their approach to classroom instruction. We also apply pro- gramming that helps students to understand their needs better and

strategies they can apply to help themselves in their learning goals. We also help themunderstand their rights as children. We foster engagement with peers andmen- tors to help build their social safety nets and allow them to individually and collectively transcend the status quo.

-Eileen St. George, Vice President, Education

Photos submitted by Eileen St. George

Photo by David Snyder (Renuka Pillay)

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