his April, we hosted a mentorship program for our secondary students in addition to the end-of-year mentorship program that takes place annually in December. Our goal in having two conferences per year for our secondary students is to increase our times of connection with them while they are on holiday, provide continued mentorship, and allow the newly sponsored students to form connections with their peers early in the year. Similar to the conference held in December, the students received mentoring from various speakers on cleanliness, personal hygiene, becoming a lady of dignity, and guidance on growing spiritually.
The more frequently the secondary students gather, the more grounded they become and aware of the different types of support available to them through The Humanity Share Kenya Office. Many of the students that we sponsor are walking into unfamiliar territory as they continually progress in their schooling. The topics that we cover during the mentorship conferences allows for them to hear openly about different challenges they may encounter while in secondary school and how to overcome them. They are equipped on how to succeed beyond their academics which also encourages them to grow holistically. The format of the conference includes both space for teaching sessions and fun. Maureen, Kenya Education Program Manager, said, “The girls are always positive, helpful and proactive throughout the conference. They are responsible girls and make our team very proud.”
Adding a mentorship program to their holiday in April was a new step that proved successful. The connection that the girls were able to build with each other and our program staff will hopefully build continued trust. As the girls continue to progress in their schooling journey, we are confident that they will keep growing into responsible, hard-working young ladies.
