April Holidays 2016

April 27, 2016

Submitted by: Grace Wandia, Kenya Program Director

The girls are home for the April school holidays. They were happy to arrive at the Holiday house on the 1st of April; they always look forward to a well-deserved rest after a hectic school term, especially now that they are in their last year of school. They ran into their Holiday house where the matron was waiting for them with a sumptuous breakfast. They kicked off their shoes, settled down, and the laughter and stories started. They each had a story to tell the matron about their time at school.

After breakfast, the girls changed from their school uniform and put on their home attires, giggling as some lament on having lost some weight; while others have added some weight, the joys of being a teenager!

As their mentor, it gives me great joy to see how the girls, have blossomed and become beautiful flowers, surely the effort and hard work we have put into them has paid off.  They now talk with so much confidence. English has become the primary language in the house, something unheard of in the beginning. Being a role model for these girls is crucial, fostering their self-esteem, setting limits, being a good communicator, and offering words of affirmation. A wise man once said that “a tree is aligned when still tender for once it is grown, alignment is not possible.”

The girls will rest for a few days then have extra tutoring at the Holiday house to boost their academic performance. The extra tutoring will run for two weeks. The girls will then attend a leadership academy at Akili Dada, an NGO that invests in girls and young women from underprivileged backgrounds who have a passion for social change. The girls will attend the academy from the 18th to the 22nd of April 2016. Afterwards, they will return to the Holiday house, and rest for one week before go backing to school on the 3rd of May 2016.