SEAM (Self Education And Mentorship) Program

As always we begin this report by confirming that the children at SEAM have been continuing with their regular activities and continue to develop useful life skills as they engage with mentors, and other members of the community, who transfer valuable knowledge to the children when they visit. We have had some losses as we recently lost one of our children who had been unwell for quite some time, but with the support from everyone who is a part of this program we were better able to handle the grief that we found ourselves faced with. The pioneers of the SEAM program (i.e. the children who were among the first to join the program) have also been a vital part of the training program, by training their younger counterparts on some of the skills that they were able to pick up from the program, such as mat making. This has been great for the community because it allows for the older children step up to the role of older sibling to the younger children of the community, and to understand the responsibility of mentorship to younger community members. The children have also been working on attaining market standards for their creative works (mats and beadwork), for buyers who have agreed to support the SEAM program. We have also been training the children on wellbeing, self-esteem, discipline, punctuality and good behavior, whilst also facilitating special visits from local authors and a hockey coach to teach them about the sport and some of the opportunities that come with it. In order to be able to expand the reach of the SEAM program, we have decided to explore collaboration with other institutions. We have been having discussions with the head teachers from other schools on areas of partnership to improve outcomes for children in the community. And finally, as an idea for the future, we are planning on improving our kitchen facilities at the site, to build a better cooking stove that will be powered by Organic Fuel Biomass Briquettes, and afford us the opportunity to introduce the children to this environmentally friendly and efficient resource.

At this time, we continue to maintain the working system we have established, as we plan for the future of this project. Since our last report we have been fortunate enough to be able to expand our SEAM library. We have received a substantial donation of books from our local book store – Textbook world. With this donation, the children will have access to wealth of additional educational material that they would normally use in school, but may not have access to outside school when doing homework.

Our lunch program has also continued to shine a light in the community. With the help our generous donors, we are able to provide a nutritious meal to the children when they come to the library for their activities. We continue to help develop their creative skills with jewelry and mat making lessons, after which they get to sell their products, and learn about financial and economic empowerment. The children also continue to expand their knowledge on farming and botany; lessons taught by the community’s local expert.

COHESU, which is the NGO through which we have been able to actualize the SEAM project, recently had its board meeting where member deliberated over ways in which we could strengthen the program. One of the ideas that was introduced after the meet, was to plan for an online version of the program (this would involve developing an online mentorship program that parents could subscribe to for their children at an affordable price), which would be made access to families who could afford the service. This is one of the ideas we are currently toying with for the future of the SEAM program. This proposal is currently at its infancy, and would take some time before it is comprehensively planned for and approved. However should we be successful in this endevour, this could help make the SEAM project self-sustainable, and provide additional resources which we could use for more projects and have a further reach.