Kimuka School Choice Club
September 10, 2018
The meeting at Kimuka school went very well. It was good to see the club members after the holiday break. It is always interesting to hear what they did during the holidays. They usually have a lot to tell and the meeting gets very exciting. Some spoke of visiting their grandmothers in the village and helping with fetching water, carrying firewood, cooking and helping in the garden. Some visited their relatives in other towns, and the rest stayed home and helped with house chores.
Our lesson was on “women and money.” The topic was timely because during the holidays, there are those girls that earned some money by carrying out chores like baby sitting and helping younger children with their holiday homework. Some of these girls work to supplement their school fees. One girl told us she gets employed at someone’s house as a maid to clean up the house, wash clothes and mind the young children, and she is paid KSHS 300 a day (USD 3). She puts this money together and gives it to her mother who keeps it for tuition fees. While some girls are relaxing at home watching movies, others are forced to earn a livelihood-that is just the way of life.
We learned that money must be EARNED and not TAKEN. Teenagers must learn SAFE ways to earn money, doing chores and getting paid for it is one way. They must also learn to draw a budget even when they are at school, so they can manage the pocket money that they are given by their parents. By having a saving culture, they learn early how to keep cash aside for a rainy day, and eventually to become financially independent. We looked at the advantages financial independence can bring:
1. You can make decisions for yourself; you have control over how you manage your money.
2. You have the ability to be strong and survive alone.
3. You again confidence in your social standing and self-esteem.
4. You gain confidence in your intellectual capacity, thinking for yourself.
5. You gain independence by not having to depend on anyone else for money.
We discussed the current trend where girls are having relationships with older men because they want to live unrealistic lives, even in Kimuka, there are girls that fall into this dangerous thinking. The girls need to know their worth and not to let anyone use them in return for favors, especially cash. The girls who have taken that path have suffered the consequences, and the members were not shy to discuss the issue. Being content with what their parents provide them with and working hard in school is one of the ways they will reap the good benefits later in life.
