August Holidays
August 9, 2016
August holiday break is here, and the girls are happy to get some time away from school to rest. They will be at the Valvisions’ Holiday House for three weeks before returning to school and to their studies. When they return, the girls will be entering their final term of Secondary School. Their excitement and anxiety for the upcoming examinations is high.
Valvisions Foundation, through the Helen Valverde Girls Scholarship Program, has funded the girls’ educations. Grace Wandia, Director of the Kenya Program, has seen to it that the girls have been well-provided for in the form of tuition fees, school supplies, clothes, and the Holiday House, itself. Meals have been provided for the girls, extra holiday tuition and pocket money, as well as transportation costs for the girls to return to their communities to visit their parents, from time to time. Grace has also seen to it that they have had much fun and entertainment during the school holidays.
No wonder they are all now anxious, wondering what their lives will be like once they finish school. The big question on their minds is what will happen after they graduate? Will they pass their exams; will they be able to get scholarships to go to University and on to colleges for those that will not be able to make it to University? This was a hot topic with the girls when Grace had them over to dinner at her house. Grace talked with the girls late into the night. They reminisced about the times they have all spent together, all that has transpired through the years, and a host of other subjects.
Over the course of time, Grace has made sure the girls stayed focused on their studies. There are those that naturally struggle with certain subjects in the school curriculum, and there are those that easily understand the topics. Over the years, Grace has seen to and encouraged ‘team work’ among the girls. The strong have supported the weak, and they have taken time out to support each another.
This August holiday, like the previous ones, Valvisions has extended extra holiday tuition for private teachers to come to the Holiday House and engage the girls on subjects they find challenging during the school term. Given that the school classrooms are filled with the demands of many students, it is difficult for the teachers to cater to the special needs of each student, individually. It is, therefore, important that the girls receive extra time on subjects they find difficult. The private tutoring allows the girls to ask any and all questions in the privacy of the Holiday House that they are not able to ask in class. The added boost has proven extremely beneficial, and the girls have always been very appreciative of the extra help.
As they prepare to return to school, the girls are feeling nostalgic; they realize their time at the Holiday House and ‘as a group on a mission’ is coming to an end. They have almost completed Secondary School and have had a warm and loving home during school holidays for the last four years. They have each expressed their appreciation and gratitude to Valvisions and to Grace many, many times over the years.
And so, for now… the girls will soon return to school to prepare for their examinations, and to see what the future holds in store.