ALVAINA Foundation
ALVAINA Foundation
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    • About ALVAINA
    • OUR WORK
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  • About ALVAINA
  • OUR WORK
  • JOIN US
  • CONTACT US

ALVAINA [YOUTH + ACCESS]

ALVAINA [YOUTH + ACCESS] ALVAINA [YOUTH + ACCESS] ALVAINA [YOUTH + ACCESS]

A Leadership & Learning Venture Accessible Internationally and Nationally for All 

 

@ALVAINAinfo

ALVAINA [YOUTH + ACCESS]

ALVAINA [YOUTH + ACCESS] ALVAINA [YOUTH + ACCESS] ALVAINA [YOUTH + ACCESS]

A Leadership & Learning Venture Accessible Internationally and Nationally for All 

 

@ALVAINAinfo

About ALVAINA

Welcome

Thank you for visiting ALVAINA. ALVAINA is an acronym for A Leadership & Learning Venture Accessible Internationally and Nationally for All. 

The Problem

We are concerned about communities affected by problems rooted in social polarization and economic inequality. We believe education is an ingredient that can be used to address these problems through school, family, and community participation and cross-sectoral collaboration. We work with youths as catalysts for change. Thus...

Our Mission

...our mission is to bridge the socio-economic development gap through research-based education programs, advocacy, and technical assistance.

....

We are a think-and-do tank. We identify unusual, yet critical problems within and across communities. We think of access and equity issues without compromise. We do not arrive at a solution until we have thought through its sustainability plan. To achieve sustainability, community participation is inevitable. Therefore, we approach and solve problems in ways that will make a lasting impact,—community engagement.


ALVAINA started as an independent study project during the founder's graduate studies. Since its inception, ALVAINA’s board members have been women. This has been a conscious decision to join the global effort in closing the gender equity gap by having more women involved in decision-making processes.


Similarly, we make a conscious effort to involve youths as volunteers or project staff members. We believe this is important in ameliorating the problem of youth un-/under-employment.  

Values

 

Youth: ALVAINA is committed to bringing about socioeconomic change by supporting youth participation at all levels of development. 


Access: ALVAINA stands for A Leadership & Learning Venture Accessible Internationally and Nationally for All. Thus, issues around barriers to access are at the core of our thinking. 

Instruments

– Maintaining a support network with local and international Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) for community mobilization and participatory planning.

 

– Building partnerships with higher education institutions to harness their hard & soft infrastructural capacities for research and implementation.

Our Vision

To bridge the gap of social polarization and economic inequality amongst local, national and international communities  

Our Framework

Community Engagement | "Demand-side" Education Accountability


ALVAINA's conceptual framework promotes youth-led and citizen-led data collection on schools. We collect both qualitative and quantitative data from community members on their success stories, needs/barriers and solutions to accessing a quality PreK-12 schooling experience and share the findings with relevant stakeholders. The community includes every person or entity in-/directly affected by the schooling process (e.g. the general public, concerned residents/parents, students, PreK-12 school/higher education staff members, community/youth leaders, nonprofits/funding partners, government staff and elected officials). These data insights support school leaders and government in making evidence-based decisions and sharing effective practices or resources. 


LEADERSHIP: 

Youths disseminate data findings among stakeholders (e.g. principals, district leaders, and community members) for the purpose of school improvement, resource allocation, and mutual accountability.  They organize convenings to hold conversations on status, progress, and plans in response to the research findings at our Quarterly Principals Roundtable and Bi-annual Public Forum events. 


LEARNING:

Youths collect school-level data through multiple channels. Quantitative data is collected through surveys and social media while qualitative data is collected through podcasts in the form of focus groups and interviews. We collect data on community members' success stories, needs/barriers and solutions to accessing a quality PreK-12 schooling experience.


ALVAINA is a conceptual framework that other organizations or districts can adopt. Please contact us to collaborate and scale.


YOUTHS AS CATALYSTS FOR CHANGE

The Marginalized

The Marginalized

The Marginalized

With youths as catalysts for change, our population group of focus is the marginalized. These are people who live in abject or relative poverty. They either barely have enough to afford one meal a day, have been denied opportunities due to them or their basic human rights, or might just need some support in moving up the socioeconomic ladder.  

All People

The Marginalized

The Marginalized

Because no one lives in isolation, and access is always at the core of our thinking, our interventions address systems/systemic problems which turn out to benefit all people in the long run.  

Systems

The Marginalized

Systems

Lastly, it is worth noting that addressing systemic issues through community engagement leads to positive and sustainable change.

Our Supporters | Partners | Collaborators

Frequently Asked Questions

Will this approach make schools look bad?

No. ALVAINA's framework aims to enhance evidence-based decision making and resource sharing for schools. We have consulted with school leaders and they are excited about this opportunity! It is also worth noting that ALVAINA's logic framework includes MySchoolDC - the Districtwide school quality rating as an indicator. We are not duplicating efforts but introducing a unique approach to school reform that connects with our ecosystem.

Why are we talking about accountability?

Accountability is a simple term to make sure all stakeholders (as a community) take responsibility for school and public education reform. Demand-side just means that it is heavily driven by the community.  


Our biannual forum creates the opportunity for all stakeholders to come together to discuss the purpose of schooling and the progress made on school improvement and systemic education reform.  

Is ALVAINA's framework replicable or scalable?

Yes. ALVAINA is a pioneer in this approach to demand-side education accountability. We intend to start with a pilot in DC and expand to other schools and districts. 

Our Team

REBECCA 'TOYIN DOHERTY 

Founder | Director


EdM, Interdisciplinary Studies, Harvard University • MA, International Education, The George Washington University • BA, English Howard University  

ELIZABETH SHANG

Director


EdM, Global Competence & Curriculum Development, Harvard University • BA, Theater, Middlebury College 

EFE OSAGIE-ODELEYE

Director


MPA, Government Administration, University of Pennsylvania • BA, Journalism, Rutgers University 

OREOLUWA ABIMBOLA

Research Associate


Graduate Student, Public Administration, The George Washington University • BA, Communication Studies, Texas Christian University 

CASSIE VADEN 

Research Assistant 


Undergraduate Student, Philosophy & Political Science, Washington University in St. Louis

SHANNON LOONEY

Social Media Coordinator


Certificate in Media & Marketing, Duke University • BA, Communication & Media Studies, Ohio State University 

Stay Connected

Sign up to stay connected! We'd like to share our data collection results and community engagement activities with you!

A Tribute

Dr. Julius Adetunji Doherty, MA (Dublin), MB.BCH (Dublin), FRCOG (London), FMCOG (Nigeria)

Dr. Julius Adetunji Doherty, MA (Dublin), MB.BCH (Dublin), FRCOG (London), FMCOG (Nigeria)

Dr. Julius Adetunji Doherty, MA (Dublin), MB.BCH (Dublin), FRCOG (London), FMCOG (Nigeria)

06/29/1933 - 10/28/2017

Dr. Julius Adetunji Doherty, MA (Dublin), MB.BCH (Dublin), FRCOG (London), FMCOG (Nigeria)

Dr. Julius Adetunji Doherty, MA (Dublin), MB.BCH (Dublin), FRCOG (London), FMCOG (Nigeria)

ALVAINA was first used by the founder's father as a business name. Dad had ALVAINA Auto Company for his two Volkswagen Car Dealerships in Lagos and Ogun States; ALVAINA Ventures & Trust Company, Ltd., a microfinance bank for families and small businesses in Oyo State; ALVAINA House that he rented to the Federal Government of Nigeria as the labor office for employment seekers; and more. 


Even though Banuso has been the Doherty family name which Dad named his hospital after as a legacy that his paternal grandfather, Josiah Henry "Henryson" Doherty (also known as J.H. Doherty) started in Lagos, Nigeria__ ALVAINA is my Dad's legacy, Dr. Julius Adetunji Doherty.

 

It is interesting to note that Dad's grandfather was known as a Prince Merchant or General Merchant who owned several lines of businesses with a great deal invested in the insurance chain. Banuso was the name of his favorite horse. "Banuso" also resonated with great grandpa a lot because, in Yoruba, it meant and showed the importance of self-reflection and introspection which is translated as "ba inu so." In Yoruba, "ba" is a verb for do, "inu" means within or to yourself, "so" means talk... suggesting that we should talk within ourselves or talk to ourselves.


ALVAINA, is Dad's legacy.

Dr. Julius Adetunji Doherty, Daddy, came up with the name ALVAINA in honor of his maternal grandparents and mother. Dad's grandfather's name was Alfred Norman-Williams, his grandmother's name was Virginia, and mother's name Aina, hence ALVAINA. In the acronym ALVAINA, the letters AL are for his grandfather Alfred, V is for his grandmother Virginia, and AINA for his mother Aina. Dad's maternal grandmother and mother were from Brazil and maintained  the Portuguese culture when they lived in Nigeria. Dad's paternal great-grandfather, Prince Ifabiyi, was kidnapped while he was young in Ogun State to work as an indentured servant--hence the Irish last name Doherty. He returned to Lagos later in his adult life and had one child, Josiah Henry "J.H." Doherty.   


Dad's father was a lawyer who died when he was eight.  His uncle, Dr. Alade Doherty was a medical doctor who took on an influential role in Dad's life. In the 1950s, Dad enrolled in an advanced science program at one of the top universities in the world, Trinity College in Dublin. He was one of the youngest medical students. He progressed in his career to become a fellow of obstetrics & gynecology and a member of the Royal College of Surgeons. Enrolling in a university of the likes of Oxford or Cambridge University in the United Kingdom or Harvard or Yale in the United States of America is worthy of note as a high achievement then, and is still is today for anyone--talk less of a black male from Nigeria in the 50s. 


Dad also became a Justice of the Peace after retirement. Dad has always had a passion for social justice and equity, and truly believed that socio-economic change began with the people led by a strong advocate/spokesperson from the grassroots level. 


This socio-economic change, is what ALVAINA Foundation seeks to do. ALVAINA came to me as an epiphany about 12 years before Daddy passed onto eternal rest. The epiphany was the acronym A Leadership & Learning Venture Accessible Internationally and Nationally for All which also stands for ALVAINA and honors Dad's values for social justice and equity. 


As a Medical Doctor Fellow and Consultant;  Justice of the Peace; Entrepreneur; and Investor, Dad was committed and was very passionate about his work. There are so many stories of complicated medical and civil cases he managed successfully to the glory of His maker, God, who he is resting with in heaven. Rest on, in peace, forever Daddy, #DrJuliusAdeTunjiDoherty.

06/29/1933 -10/28/2017


Your loving daughter,

Rebecca Oluwatoyin Doherty 

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Shifting accountability to the demand side!