By Catherine Kaimenyi | Project Leader
November 2013
Nairobi Kenya
Dear Global Giving Friends,
Wairimu attended our mentorship program before joining Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology. The skills she acquired particularly in computer and social interaction were to later shape both her academic and social life in the university and more importantly help other girls. In her own words, Wairimu narrated the impacts of her two months encounter with SAWA:
“When I joined college, I was the best among my friends who was competent in computer applications. Most of the others came from the rural areas and were using the computer for the first time. Majority did not have an email. The culture shock at the university was great to many, particularly those who had schooled in day high school without boarding experiences. Since I was ahead of them having shared with other girls at SAWA, where we used shared accommodation, I took the responsibility to show them around and train them on how to live with one another. I opened email accounts for them. All class assignments are supposed to be typed, so I helped them learn how to type. I also showed them how to prepare slides for Powerpoint presentation, using the skills acquired at SAWA. As a result I became their automatic mentor. We formed a group of 12 girls with me a their obvious leader. In this group, we discuss issues of career and even challenges facing girls in education. One time, we invited Winnie, one of the women who used to give us counseling at SAWA. She came to the university and gave us a talk on balancing academics with Social life. 80 girls attended the talk which was conducted at Auditorium II.”
The story of such impacts is similar to all those who have passed through the mentorship program.
This program has not only benefited the individual girls, but also has benefited many other girls through them. We are mentoring girls and training mentors for girls.
Thank you for helping us!
Catherine
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