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| Gilbert Sakwa (left) and Teresia Wanjiku (right) of Kariobangi Baptist Education Centre. |
Scores of pupils drawn for various schools in Dandora, Korogocho, Kariobangi, Huruma and Mathera and who are members of a mentorship program called Education for Life (EFL) converged on Saturday at Our Lady of Fatima Secondary School to showcase their talents.
The Saturday event preceded a major talents exhibition event planned for next weekend at Sarakasi Dome, an entertainment a facility located along Ngara Road.
Ms Nelly Wambui, the coordinator of EFL, told Dandora Today that the event at Our Lady of Fatima was part of their talent development program and the main event of the day was football. But the participating kids showcased talents in other fields outside football including acrobatics, dancing, drawing and modelling.
The talent development program is designed to identify talents in kids from an early age and create an environment to nurture those talents with those that those who go through the program successfully can become self-reliant when they leave school.
Data show that transition from primary to secondary school in Kenyan schools is far from 100% despite the subsidised secondary school education offered by the government. It is estimated that the number of candidates who sat KCSE in 2015 was only 42% of the pupils who enrolled in Class One in 2004.
Participants
One of the models was a pupil called Teresia Wanjiku from Kariobangi Baptist Education Centre, which is one of the schools participating in EFL’s programs. Gilbert Sakwa, a teacher at the school, said that he felt participating in the EFL programs has had a positive impact on his pupils. “The program has boosted confidence in our pupils and improved class attendance,” said Mr Sakwa.
The mentorship program
Ms Wambui said that EFL is weaved around talent development and lifeskills education. The mentorship program runs for a period of 17 Saturdays and the current program began in April.
One of the models was a pupil called Teresia Wanjiku from Kariobangi Baptist Education Centre, which is one of the schools participating in EFL’s programs. Gilbert Sakwa, a teacher at the school, said that he felt participating in the EFL programs has had a positive impact on his pupils. “The program has boosted confidence in our pupils and improved class attendance,” said Mr Sakwa.
The mentorship program
Ms Wambui said that EFL is weaved around talent development and lifeskills education. The mentorship program runs for a period of 17 Saturdays and the current program began in April.
“It’s an in-school program covering eligible schools in Huruma, Mathare, Kariobangi and Dandora. There are 35 schools in the program and each school has an Education for Life club with 30 members, which brings total club membership to 1050 pupils,” said Ms Wambui.
But EFL clubs only admit pupils in classes five through seven and it is rolled out in a cycle of three years.
“We identify talent mentors for the kids, such as a mentor on drama, a mentor on football […] the guy who mentors the team (football) is from MYSA,” she added.
Composition of club membership
It turns out that EFL has a criterion for identifying eligible pupils to join its talent and lifeskills clubs. Ms Wambui said that 80% of club membership is allocated to special group pupils and 20% for the average pupils.
It turns out that EFL has a criterion for identifying eligible pupils to join its talent and lifeskills clubs. Ms Wambui said that 80% of club membership is allocated to special group pupils and 20% for the average pupils.
EFL is a program of a nonprofit organisation called Integrated Education for Community Empowerment (IECE). The organisation runs another separate program called JIkaze Utafaulu Program (JUP), which is focused on self-empowerment and targets young people who are out of school.