In Kenya when girls reach high school age, school is no longer free. If one is to advance to high school her parents must pay not only her tuition fees but also purchase school uniforms, textbooks, and other supplies like pens, notebooks and math sets. Those whose parents cannot afford the fees are usually sent out to work to contribute to the family income. As a result girls do not envision a real future for themselves. They don't set goals as they know that those goals will probably not be achievable.
The Ronnie Fund is attempting to change those views for these promising young girls in Wongonyi Village. This past spring Serah Mucha Mdawida (Ronnie's wife) arranged for two women educators from Nairobi to travel to the village to facilitate a weekend mentoring workshop for students. On the Friday the women engaged 150 students from Wongonyi and neighbouring Mbolo village on self-esteem and visioning through fun and engaging activities.
The next day the women met with 20 girls from the Sere Girls Club and spent in-depth time on goal-setting, time management and the power of personal future planning. Many of the girls have never spent any time thinking of the future beyond the next day. The facilitators enlightened the girls on the need to think about their futures and educated the girls on the opportunities that exist by going to college and university. It is only through education that the girls and their families can lift themselves out of the cycle of poverty. Serah will be holding a follow-up workshop with the girls in the next month or two. As well Serah will be bringing a few girls to Nairobi to tour the universities and colleges and learn about opportunities outside the village.
The girls did find the visioning exercise challenging because they have not ever thought about life outside the village but it is hoped that this workshop will give the girls a new look on a brighter future.
Serah also plans on developing a mentorship program with successful young women in Kenya who can mentor the girls on a regular basis encouraging them to continue their studies both at high school, university or college and then into the business world. It is important that we empower these young women who are the leaders of today. An indication of the power of girls is our twinning project with Muskoka Scout troops and the Ikanga Scout troop in Kenya. Recently the girls unit of the Scouts placed third in the provincial Kenya Scouting competition. A great feat and we celebrate their hard work. Go Girls!
