Community Outreach: #2 Healthy Living Seminar @ SEGA: October. 2011

 Next on our Outreach Program was an educational seminar which we held in October. It was designed to benefit both our girls and the Secondary aged students from the Mission Home for The Homeless. Being an all girls' school, it was a win/win situation to invite the MHC students. Sharing correct information and having the guys participating in discussions on sexuality and adolescent health issues proved productive and very successful.....Also everyone enjoyed the opportunity to socialise and get to know their neighbors better.

The following is the report I wrote after this event:

 

ADOLESCENT CAPACITY BUILDING AND HEALTHY LIVING SEMINAR

SEGA Girls Secondary School. 22/10/2011

Our girls opened the seminar with our traditional "Welcome Visitors" song.

85 students, girls from Forms 1 & 2 @ SEGA and girls and boys in Forms 1-4 @ The Home For The Homeless, were actively involved in the Community Outreach seminar at SEGA, Saturday 22 October. The seminar was presented to educate and to develop positive self esteem and relationships in young adolescents which nurture respect for females and males. Volunteering in the community and supporting the needs of others is a focus of the Lifeskills program for SEGA girls. Being able to share both academically and socially with the youth of our neighboring orphanage was very rewarding.

                   The young people peer teaching...... sharing their knowledge.

 Counselor Pauline leading the information session.

The seminar was led by SEGA’s school counselor, Pauline Rusisye and the Lifeskills team Naomi Mabina, Fran Bruty and supported by Grace Johns. The day was interactive with students involved in group activities and discussions; presenting their own knowledge; learning from each other’s experiences and leading activities. Information from audio/visual materials, a popular local youth magazine which deals with gender issues and informative STI/HIV posters and brochures were used.

The topics included:

•                     Adolescent development beginning with the importance of good nutrition and exercise.

•                     Body changes

•                     Sexual desires

•                     Concept of sexuality

•                     Risk Behaviours; Teenage pregnancy with its effects

•                     Sexually Transmitted Infections including HIV/AIDS

The afternoon session allowed time for reflection on the information presented and generated productive discussions about planning for future and developing healthy relationships to ensure our youth are making good decisions in their lives

              

Sharing information gathered during group activities.

Watching the movie: "Yellow Card" 

An educational story designed to promote discussion in adolescents about issues related to sexual activity. The resultant discussions were very productive and enlightening for all the young people involved. 

The seminar included sharing chai and lunch followed by some social fun with music and dancing. Definitely a successful social activity as the youths relaxed and chatted and enjoyed getting to know each other during their favorite past time of dancing.

 Mama Mpishi working hard in the kitchen to provide lunch for everyone.

Time for dancing and socialising.

The success of the day was reflected in the comments from some of the SEGA girls and our visiting youth from the Orphanage:

“….today’s seminar was so beautiful and it was my first seminar with both boys and girls….”

“….I would like for the seminar to be done after every 1-2 months because it helps us, the youth, to be confident and to know how to make good relationships……”

“….The seminar was great! Today I learned very many things because before this seminar I wasn’t confident to make decisions to help me be strong…”

“…..we need to be strong and know that girls are good and confident like the boys. Today I know that we can be….”

“….I am very delighted for being invited to the seminar, I did not expect I would come for this but I am very happy I did come to SEGA and meet the teachers and the girls here….”

Community Outreach: Volunteering in our Communities: August. 2011

As part of our Lifeskills/Leadership program we are developing at SEGA, During Semester 2 we  included and began the Community Outreach component of the program addressed in Outcomes 3 and 4 of our curriculum vision. Our girls are given the opportunity to plan for then volunteer their time and skills to help, support and learn from their peers, families and disadvantaged or needy groups in their community.

EDUCATION FOR LIFE
Leadership and Life Skills Development Program

Outcomes 3: CONNECTING WITH OTHERS
4. Girls recognise and work towards reducing differences between people.eg. Disabilities; cultural; gender.
5. Girls feel connected to their communities and can identify community needs.

Outcomes 4: TAKE ACTION
1. Girls demonstrate productive decision making and organisational skills.
2. Girls can speak for themselves and others.
4. Girls develop environmental awareness, appreciation and care.
5. Girls actively reach out to their community; volunteering their time and skills to give to and learn from others: peers, family, the needy and disadvantaged.

Our first activity was held in August when some of our Nurturing Minds family were visiting SEGA. They shared the experience of our day volunteering at Mission Home For Homeless Children which is the Orphanage situated about 2 kms down our track.

Two of our students live here and their joy in having our Form 1 girls give to their family was felt in their reflection letters.

                                                                                                                             

............On behalf of the children of Mission To The Homeless Children (MHC), we received guests from SEGA Girls School, my school friends, who came to help us to accomplish different tasks. They helped us in a lot, first they helped in our farm preparing food, peeling and maize, cook breakfast, also we had a friendly football match between boys and girls and the winner were girls with 3 to 1 for boys. Then breakfast followed. After that it was time to play music, do drawing, we danced together with their teachers starting from Madam Polly, Madam Naomi, Madam Ashley, brother Campbell and sister Isabel. Most of us made a lot of friends. SEGA girls showed us a lot of love and we really felt bad when they had to leave us but we escorted them and hopeful they will come again.

..............The children of MHC we would like to thank the students of SEGA Girls of Form 1 together with their teachers. The day they visited us and volunteered was a very happy day for us.

We would like to thank them for cooperating with us, doing a lot of tasks. We farmed, peel maize, cook breakfast together cleaned dishes, then we danced,  play football drew and swinged in the play area.

We would like also to send our regards to Campbell, Ashley, Isabella and Walker for volunteering too.

We welcome SEGA Girls again to our centre. Thank you very much and God Bless you.

 Arriving

 Everybody helping out! Great work Counselor Pauline.

 Preparing chai and helping out in the kitchen.

 Our girls had made mandazi before they had left SEGA and happily shared their tasty breakfast.

 Artists at play!

Story time with the younger ones.

 So true!!

 The friendly match of football which the girls proudly won: 3-1 against the boys!

 song and dance for everyone...

...even Babu Simba joined in the fun!

 A time to share thoughts and friendship.

 Naomi thanking everyone involved in the successful sharing of time, skills and friendships at MHC.

 The walk home was eagerly shared but regretfully the day had to end.

Kwa heir SEGA....rudi HMC tena!

Unfortunately for me I missed this day of fun and sharing. I had helped organise it but was away in Tanga with the Form 2's on the day it took place. Nevertheless....I certainly felt the excitement from the Form 1 girls on my return to SEGA. They were very excited and enriched by the experience and nearly all of them wanted to tell me about their day and their own special moments. Such a powerful experience!

November 15. Form 2...Our Enterprising Girls... Phase 1: Production

The white t-shirts were tied and secured 

And so the National Exams are over and the Form 2 girls have been invited to part take in an activity which will introduce them to the world of Business. The vision for SEGA is that we will eventually be financially self sustaining. 2012 will see the introduction of small business projects in which the girls will be actively involved. To give them an insight into the competitive market,  Julia and Hugo, members of the Foundacion Paraguayan  who are spear-heading the project for the next two years, are working with the Form 2 girls. Kennedy Wilson, our English teacher, is coordinating the next project for the 2 weeks. Rhoda and Josephine have been chosen student leaders of the activity by the girls.

Before the exams, 2 weeks ago, the girls elected to sell tie-dyed t-shirts in the town of Morogoro. They had made them 18months ago with Sandra and Ashley, volunteers to SEGA, and were excited that they were actually owning the whole process and doing something they chose to do. It meant a lot of quick thinking and seeking and accessing materials and information...

  .....finally  it all came together on Wednesday!! 

An example of great team work! 

Thanks Polly, Lydia and Jessie

Hugo, Polly and Jessie with the girls discussing the process...

....and the soda soak began.

The yellow powder stubbornly wouldn't dissolve .....

...try as we did!!

Kennedy leading the team discussion of costs and logistics...

Would the groups sell ALL shirts tie dyed?

....or could there be a market for selling plain white T-Shirts?

which apparently, are hard to buy in Morogoro.

calculations....

more discussions and decisions...

white....or tie dyed???

The girls worked in small teams to prepare, soak, mix dye,

whilst Rhoda did a stock take.

finally the dyeing process started. The whole shirt was immersed in two colors of dye. 

This is what the girls remembered of the process they had used previously. 

As this was their production they chose to experiment to decide how they were going to proceed in completing the dyeing process.

Rhoda recorded statistics.

mmmmm...the first shirt is revealed

and hung out to dry

Intense discussions resulted as the girls were clearly disappointed with the result of the first sample.

A variety of suggestions were given.

Jessie's bottle application of the dye in smaller, controlled amounts was tested.

HONGERA!!

The results immediately sparked renewed enthusiasm from the girls!

Josephine happily continued leading the action

Learning to handle set backs, disappointments whilst still continuing to find appropriate desirable solutions is all part of the process of becoming a business woman. 

The Girls have certainly had a taste of this during Phase 1!

But.....there is still a lot of work to be done before hitting the streets selling their goods!

During the next two weeks the girls will continue to learn about, and experience the realities of being a woman in business! 

Go girls!!