In January 2023, a group of eighth grade students in Westerville, Ohio entered the Future City competition under the guidance of Tina Bardwell and Linda Amici. After discussing the project with Kavita Tanna, Linda proposed to the students that they might design their city around the needs of the community in Mashuuru to give a real-life application to their project. The community’s rising concerns with their settled state align with the requirements of the competition, as they do not have a permanent water source and are new to sustainable agriculture, for example. The students found this connection gave their work focus and purpose, increasing their engagement, intrinsic motivation, and overall learning.

In July 2024, seven educators and school leaders representing seven learning communities from Tanzania, Kenya, and the United States of America gathered on the campus of Secondary Education for Girls Advancement (SEGA) in Morogoro, Tanzania for a week of exploring the elements of a Ustawi Global model school. This inaugural event of the international education non-profit Ustawi Global elevated the learning journeys of each participating community while introducing strategies for deepening practices of connections, learning, and communities coming alive.