very year, our Kenya office holds a Girls Empowerment Conference for our high school scholars. In Kenya, there are two long holiday periods within the school calendar. The first is during the month of April and the second is from the end of November to early January. We see these times as prime opportunities to pour into our high school scholars, address any issues they may be facing and continually remain up to date with where they are holistically. In doing so, the girls are reminded that they are part of a community through The Humanity Share and have a support system they can lean on through their academic journey.
This year’s December conference took place from Dec. 5 - 8th and through each day were facilitators that shared on different topics from sexuality & personal hygiene, to finishing strong academically, to self-awareness and personal development. Each session was catered to meet the girls at their various stages of life and also provide them with the tools and resources they need to keep moving forward mentally, spiritually, relationally, emotionally, and physically.
Maureen, Education Program Manager, shared that, “The conference this year went successfully as each of the students present was well engaged with the content, responsive, and eager to ask questions and participate in the sessions. We have never had a more energetic group.” Having the girls eagerly engage in each session was an encouragement to the team and speakers alike. Echoing the same review, a reflection that came in from the healthcare speaker, Nurse Faith Selian, was, “The topic of personal hygiene where we talked a lot about cleanliness during the menstrual period was well received by the girls and a lot of questions were asked which were well answered. They shared their first menstrual experiences of which some were sad and others were interesting and this reflected the knowledge gap on the menstrual period.” Pastor Sally Kapei who shared on “Discover Your Greatness”, encouraged the girls to cultivate a spirit of humility, obedience, agreement with God, an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit, faith, and discipline. She shared these as keys to discovering your greatness and walking in it.
Facilitating such integral conversations helped the girls engage more consistently and openly with the speakers and one another. Each student left the conference happy and encouraged at the time they had. We are thankful for all your support in putting together this seminar, the fruit of it is worthwhile!
