AFRICA EXPERIENCE
One of the biggest highlights of the Lapid experience is the study trip to one African country, after completing the three pillars of the Lapid experience. This trip is known as the Africa Experience and everyone that joins Lapid is always in anticipation of it. The main goal of the study trip is to understand integration and develop a Pan-African mindset which is one of the core values of Lapid. As a community, we believe that we are Africa and Africa is our business. We believe in building our continent to the best of our abilities and that we are the best people to provide solutions for African problems.
The trip also enables learners to gain new perspectives especially on issues that cut across many African countries and be able to see solutions that allow them to open up their minds to a much broader range of ideas. Seeing the possibilities in other countries gives them confidence to think broadly and implement the ideas they have as solutions in Kenya and beyond. We believe that everyday is a good day to learn something new and we are committed to exploring as many learning opportunities as possible.
Through the Africa Experience, many learners are also able to understand the place and importance of collaboration within the African continent. Throughout the process of planning for the trip, the learners themselves have to collaborate a lot and each person has to lead themselves in order to ensure the team is effective and efficient. Having done a lot of teamwork throughout the various pillars, the Africa Experience gives them a chance to see and learn what collaboration can do on a much larger scale. This instills a culture of teamwork and collaboration as opposed to competition which if implemented by each learner wherever they go, there will be a ripple effect in many facets of society where they are.
Creativity and innovation is also a very instrumental part of the Africa Experience. The learners have to come up with creative ways to fund their trip since it is on them to fund it. The process of planning the trip calls for creative problem solving which is one of the key things the Lapid Community is heavy on. It gives the learners a good opportunity to implement it in real time. They are also able to go and benchmark on the same and begin to see how the same can be done in Kenya on a broader range. The whole process builds the mindset and muscle of a creative problem-solver as opposed to one who complains and awaits a solution from elsewhere.
The variety of opportunities in Africa is also another thing the learners get exposed to during the Experience. They are able to identify and see many opportunities that they can explore especially when they engage the locals of a country. They are also able to see and make use of resources available in other countries that can benefit the African continent.
Last but not least, is the culture. One of the biggest identities Africa has is her rich cultural heritage that has lived on throughout the centuries and been passed down from one generation to another. The Africa Experience gives the learners firsthand access to different African cultures. This will encourage a love for and appreciation of the richness of African culture that has multidimensional expressions in various countries. As a community, we understand the importance of appreciating our cultural heritage and allowing it to find expression in our lives and our work as well. We believe that as learners go through the Africa Experience they are able to have a newfound love for our cultures in their diversities.
