AfricAid is so pleased that Eliakunda Kaaya has come on board in the Arusha, Tanzania office as a Kisa Mentor. It’s almost like she has never left AfricAid… she was one of the first Kisa Scholars, maintained a close relationship with her Mentors, had a volunteer internship, became a substitute Kisa Mentor and now, at last, she is a full-time Kisa Mentor!
In addition to being Mentors to the Kisa Scholars, she will also be the ideal role model for the students. She will share her own perspectives and experiences in the Kisa Project and at the university where she studied.
What was your experience like as a Kisa Scholar?
I commenced Kisa in 2011 as a student at Enaboishu Secondary School. Kisa was introduced to all the Form 5 students – we were the first year group. 15 girls passed the interview.
I really needed Kisa because I knew I wanted to become a leader but I didn’t know how. Kisa taught me to believe in myself and to believe that I could do anything. It gave me space to dream and the confidence to believe. It changed my life a lot. The most important things were the mentoring I received from my Kisa Mentors Anande and Esther, and the peer support from other Kisa Scholars. This gave me the encouragement to ultimately become Head Girl at the school.
I had a very difficult childhood, and so I learned to do things on my own without relying on anyone else. And I thought I could do it on my own. But not sharing my struggles with others, and keeping it all inside me, made me sick in my heart. Through Kisa, I came to understand the importance of having a support network and the rewards of finding the courage to trust others. Kisa gave me the best family anyone could ask for.
What did you do after you graduated from Kisa in 2013?
After I graduated, I really wanted to help my mother financially so I did some business in the market. I was selling vegetables, but I didn’t earn enough to support us. I then got a temporary job at a secondary school teaching history and English to Form 3 and 4 students. The whole time I’d kept in touch with Anande. My dream was to study in the US and Anande and other AfricAid staff wanted to keep supporting me to reach my dream. I applied to study in the US, but was not successful in receiving a placement with a scholarship.
AfricAid then offered me an internship and I helped with data entry as well as being a substitute Kisa Mentor. My AfricAid colleagues encouraged and supported me to apply to study in Tanzania instead – my Plan B! In September 2014 I started at St Augustine University of Tanzania and have just finished my Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. I really loved the course. During breaks, I volunteered with AfricAid and in August this year I started working full-time with AfricAid as a Kisa Mentor.
What do you hope to achieve as a Kisa Mentor?
I want to inspire and share with other girls. So many people have given me hope and inspiration so that I can gain something. It’s a blessing for you if others succeed through your hand. I like to invest in other people and to give back for all that I have received.
It feels so good to see how these girls stand up on their feet and want to become better, to be transformed, and to become dreamers with a vision to see those dreams come true. Mentoring younger girls is one of the best things you can do. I also learn from the girls, so it’s a win-win. And I really like dealing with people now. I can deal with any type of personality. When you know people, I think you know the world.
What is your vision for women in Tanzania?
I’d like to see Tanzanian women become independent. I want them to be able to stand on their own and do all those things men think they can’t do; I want them to stand up and say ‘these are our rights’. I want women to be able to stand up on behalf of down-trodden. I want to see a country full of women who have a vision, who are independent, and can stand by themselves.
When a girl is born in Tanzania, people say ‘oh, it’s a girl’. When a boy is born, they say ‘it’s a king, it’s a hero’. Women are seen as less valuable. My vision is that when a girl is born people will say ‘it’s a queen, it’s a heroine’ and shout it out proudly.
I want women to be able to do anything men can do, and to do it even better. I want a world with equality – there should be same opportunities for men and women, in school, in politics, everywhere.
As a woman, you meet a lot of obstacles and a lot you face will try to knock you down. Whenever I take a step and get knocked down, even though it’s hard to stand up, I dust my hands off, and start the journey again, having learned what knocked me down. So then I know what to change. I always learn from obstacles and I try not to make the same mistake again. I just try to knock those obstacles out of my way!
I want girls to understand that they have within themselves the capability to become the best version of themselves and to achieve anything they set their mind to.
What are your future plans?
My biggest dream now is to do more for women and girls in my community and beyond. I feel like I have a responsibility to help girls realize their rights, especially their right to education. I want to be part of the fight against all of those things that obstruct girls from attaining an education: poverty and other financial constraints, the status quo in Tanzania, and cultural factors. I also want to complete a Masters degree in the future.
Twice yearly, AfricAid hosts lunches where Kisa Alumnae from different universities and working places get together to discuss what they are doing now and their future plans. These lunches are also a good platform for AfricAid to explain what is happening at our offices and promote job opportunities in AfricAid and other organizations. The most exciting thing about these gatherings is that different Kisa Alumnae from different Kisa Partner Schools are meeting and building a strong network to give back to their communities. Through their shared experience with Kisa, they are truly like a family and these young women love the 6 month reunions.
Recently, AfricAid conducted three lunches in Dar es Salaam, Arusha and Dodoma. These meetings were attended by a total of 128 Alumnae from different Kisa Partner Schools and different graduation years. Most of the Alumnae are currently enrolled at university, some of them are employed and some are entrepreneurs, and few are still searching for employment opportunities.
All of our Alumnae really appreciate the knowledge they got from Kisa. They claim that Kisa has helped them to face university life, and life after university. For example, one young woman said that “to many Form Six graduates their main goal is to pass their final exams, get accepted to join university and get a study loan from the government. When things don’t go as they plan, they become frustrated and give up their dreams. I am one of the graduates who had such plan but unfortunately, I did not get a study loan from the government. I was frustrated at first but I remembered learning in Kisa that we should be optimistic and see challenges as opportunities. I postponed my studies for a year, and now I am an entrepreneur. I am doing a mobile money transfer business and sell SIM card vouchers. I am also a life coach at Trevo Company. I am sure that I will be able to save enough money to join university this year. I couldn’t do this without Kisa”.
Alumnae also use these meeting to share their different experiences with their fellows so as to encourage those who are hesitating to take a step in their lives or to chase a certain dream. Hellen, a Kisa Alumna from Cornerstone Leadership Academy (2013-2015) told her fellow alumnae how she started volunteering to mentor girls in a school near her university. She says many girls look up to and admire her a lot. As a result, she was able to meet with a lot of important people and was invited to go and give a speech about vision, education and creativity at an Easter conference held in Kagera Region. Hellen is also following her dream of becoming a gospel singer and soon she will start to release her songs.
At the meeting in Dar es Salaam, Alumnae started organizing a charity event. They are planning to go and visit a centre for disabled orphans in that city. They each contributed a small amount of money to buy different supplies and they will donate them to the children in need at Kurasini Centre.
AfricAid is very proud of what Kisa Alumnae have accomplished. They act as good ambassadors for AfricAid and the Kisa Project, thereby extending the reach and impact of our organization.
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AfricAid’s Health Symposium is a day-long Kisa Project event which aims to provide knowledge about health issues to Kisa Scholars. It is optional and very popular among the young female students.
On February 18, 2017, 170 Kisa Scholars from 8 Partner Schools in the Arusha Region received the critical, life-long benefits of this health education. Group training sessions were held in two locations: Arusha Secondary School and Moringe Sokoine Secondary School in Monduli.
The event is successful because actual health professionals such as doctors and nurses are brought in to provide expert knowledge about alcohol and drug abuse, pregnancy and HIV/AIDS. The Scholars learned a lot from these health experts, including making good decisions, protection from early pregnancy and how to help people who are drug abusers or HIV positive.
Neema, one of the Kisa Scholars who attended the training, commented “I have now realized that parents play a big role to help their children not to make bad decisions or engage in risky behavior which can lead them to either early pregnancy or alcohol and drug abuse.” Neema said she will be a good mother who will make sure that her children are aware of health issues from an early age.
Another Kisa Scholar, Anna, spoke of how the training helped her understand that different myths are incorrect. She explained, “I always believed that a small amount of alcohol would not be bad for your health. I learned from the training the true effects of taking any amount of alcohol or drugs.”
Despite the success of the event, Scholars were not able to ask all of their questions because of limited time. Discussions about health related topics continue in regular Kisa classes with their Mentors. Kisa Mentors create a very safe space for the girls to ask questions and express themselves. In this way, more students will be able to learn how to take care of their bodies (and their children’s…when they have them).
With this worthwhile event, AfricAid believes that our Kisa graduates will be more informed about health issues and be able to spread their knowledge to others helping to solve challenges facing them and their communities
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Career Day was established in 2011 for two reasons: it is important for Kisa Scholars to be inspired by other successful women from Tanzania and it is useful for the students to learn from people who are in the fields that they would like to pursue when going to university. It has been the norm since then, and several thousand girls have passed through six Kisa Career Day events.
After five consecutive years of steadily increasing participation in this event and the expansion of AfricAid into the Kilimanjaro region, Career Day has grown to be so large that two separate events were held this fall. Ms. Anande Nnko was hired as an event planner and she organized the two events with cooperation from the Kisa Mentors for Arusha and Kilimanjaro.
The majority of attendees were Kisa Scholars, and the balance included AfricAid staff, Kisa Alumnae, guest speakers and other invited guests. Nearly 1,200 people overall experienced this year’s gathering of inspiring role models and captivated students.
Arusha Region (including Partner Schools in Arusha and Monduli)
Date: October 7, 2016
Location: Olasiti Garden
Participants: 474 (382 Kisa Scholars)
Kilimanjaro Region
Date: October 8, 2016
Location: Mwenge Catholic University
Participants: 707 (630 Kisa Scholars)
There were three inspirational guest speakers who attended both events and shared their life stories with the girls.
There were also small group discussions where Kisa Scholars had the opportunity to meet with different professionals from different careers they wish to pursue, for example: economists, lawyers, doctors, engineers, pilots, accountants and many others. Kisa Scholars had time to ask a lot of questions for more clarification and understanding, but these break-out sessions are so popular that we plan to dedicate even more time to them in 2017. Also, since Kisa Alumnae are becoming established in their careers, next time there should be at least one guest speaker who is an alumnae.
Career Day is here to stay!
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“Not everyone gets an opportunity to be in the Kisa Project and those who get that opportunity will find that it changes their lives completely”. That was the message shared by the Year Two Scholars (Form Six) when they were introducing the program to the new Form Five students who were being recruited.
Since 2010, the Kisa Project has expanded from two schools to twenty in the Arusha and Kilimanjaro regions. About 815 students in these partner schools have shown an interest in becoming Kisa Scholars this year. However, due to limited resources, only 592 students will get to experience the two years of leadership, personal development and community service training. At many schools, admission is more selective and the Mentors have to decide who can join. If there are too many Scholars in a class, the mentoring process will not be as effective.
Kisa Mentors consider these criteria to select the new groups of Scholars:
The recruitment process starts with introducing the project to the new Scholars. Those who are inspired enough then fill out the application forms. This is followed by an interview, and lastly, the names of the selected Scholars are posted on the school notice board.
During the interview, the most important question we ask the potential Scholar is what she expects from the Kisa Project. When answering, most of them spoke about the benefits shared by the Form Sixes during the introduction session. These include being confident, learning teamwork, fulfilling your personal goals, and achieving the vision you have for your community.
“I was inspired with the way the Kisa Scholars did the introduction for us. It seems Kisa enables girls to achieve their personal goals and be a part of the solution towards the challenges facing their societies.They spoke confidently and in a very strong and powerful voice. I can’t do that,” said one new recruit. Not yet, but before long, she will too!
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