logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2024
39m 58s

What can we learn from a rural school in...

SIMON SINEK
About this episode

Kenya's Maasai Mara is rugged, beautiful, and tough. Values are everything for the people who live in this rural countryside, 

On a trip to Kenya, I had the opportunity to visit The Mara.  The intelligence and grit of the young people there blew me away! I met incredibly driven young women determined to uplift their families from poverty. Carol Moraa is giving them that opportunity. She's the founding principal of Kisaruni Girls High School and Provost for Legacy College.

I wanted to ask Carol where her kids find the motivation to willingly sign up for 18-hour school days. It turns out when learning is a choice, not an obligation, it's possible to build schools where cultural values and community are at the heart of what people do.

This...is A Bit of Optimism.
 

For more on Carol and her work, check out:

Legacy College

Kisaruni Girls High School

Up next
Sep 23
Rob Lowe Names Names: The Power of ‘Screw It’
Hey Optimists! We’re taking a little hiatus, but exciting things are coming your way! We’ll be back on October 21 with some amazing new episodes that we can’t wait to share. In the meantime, take care of yourself, enjoy the little moments, and remember—good things are just around ... Show More
1h 2m
Sep 16
The Future You Avoid Is Riskier Than the One You Face with LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman
The future is something we create, not just something that happens. To guide progress toward real good, we need bold, optimistic visions of what society can become.Reid Hoffman makes the case for better science fiction - stories that don’t just entertain, but illuminate the futur ... Show More
1h 6m
Sep 9
What Your Love Life Can Teach You About Work Relationships with psychotherapist Esther Perel
We’ve never had more freedom in our relationships—yet many of us feel more disconnected than ever. Marriage, family, and even the workplace have all been reshaped by shifting norms, new technologies, and rising expectations. Happiness, once a nice-to-have, is now the very glue th ... Show More
1h 2m
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2024
221: How to advocate for the schools our children deserve with Allyson Criner Brown & Cassie Gardener Manjikian
How to advocate for the schools our children deserve   How comfortable do you feel speaking up about something your child’s school needs? Have you noticed that some parents seem to feel more comfortable speaking up than others? Have you ever noticed that sometimes rules and polic ... Show More
1h 11m
Aug 2018
EsF Assembly 2018 Podcasts: 1. A Sense of Place
In this very special, first episode of EsF Assembly 2018 Podcasts “A Sense of Place” we will listen to South African Montessori pioneers Naledi Mabeba & Bukelwa Selema who share impressions about their work and life in South Africa. Naledi speaks about the difficulties that she f ... Show More
51 m
Jun 2025
Why Kelis Left America to Buy a 300 Acre Farm in Kenya & Show Others How to Build Wealth in Africa
On this powerful episode of Earn Your Leisure, we sit down with Grammy-nominated artist and entrepreneur Kelis, who opens up about her bold decision to leave America and build a new life in Kenya. She shares why she purchased 150 acres of farmland, how she navigated land ownershi ... Show More
1h 7m
May 2025
Power in knowledge: How girls’ education helps communities thrive
When girls are educated, communities thrive – but how do we make that a global reality in the digital age?In this episode of Our World, Connected, host Christine Wilson explores the urgent issue of girls’ education in a rapidly changing world – where access to schooling, digital ... Show More
34m 28s
Mar 2025
Raising Money-Smart Kids Through Entrepreneurship & Real-World Lessons | Rachel Rodgers EP 926
Don't miss the Make Money Easy Book Tour! https://lewishowes.com/moneyyou Check out the full episode: greatness.lnk.to/1745"If you want something, are you willing to put some sweat equity into it so you can have it? Teaching them that I think is a core money principle." - Rachel ... Show More
6m 9s
Oct 2021
EP239 Five things I’ve learned as a white teacher working in a Black community (with Sara Singer)
If your cultural, racial, or socio-economic background is different from that of your students, there can be a learning curve as you build rapport. In today’s episode, I’m talking with Sara Singer, a high school special education teacher on Chicago’s South Side. Sara loves to co- ... Show More
38m 18s
Aug 2024
Lessons from Maggie Lena Walker’s Entrepreneurial Leadership
Growing up in the heart of the Confederacy, Maggie Lena Walker started work as a laundress at age nine. At the urging of her mother and mentors, she turned to education, and used it to propel her life forward — graduating high school at 16, working as a teacher, and learning acco ... Show More
29m 41s
Sep 2020
S2-02. Reflecting on past literacy experiences: Tamara Morris & Justin Pita
Join Amplify interns Justin Pita, undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania, and Tamara Morris, graduate of Stanford University, as they share their reading journeys. They highlight the major disparities and barriers that affected their academic experiences and reflect on h ... Show More
33m 50s
May 2022
Kenya: The Lost Girls
An increase in teen pregnancies in Kenya is part of a shadow pandemic that ripped through developing nations during Covid, setting women’s progress back generations. In this episode of The Pay Check, journalist Jill Filipovic visits a dance school in Nairobi, Kenya that’s fightin ... Show More
21m 40s