Friday, July 28, 2017

Internship at Sadili Yields Great Professional Experience: Intern Success Story 4


Meet Jemimma Manga. A young, energetic student who has a passion for sports. She recently completed her internship and had a lot of positive things to share. Read her story:

"My name is Manga Jemimmah Mawondo, an Akili Dada Gap year student who is passionate about sport. I recently completed my internship at Sadili Oval Sports Academy, an organization I joined having learnt that it uses sport and education to empower and improve learning. The idea of working at Sadili resonated with my dream of having a magnificent sports club in Maasai land in order to utilize their talents and use sport as an influential medium to stop the bad cultures they have. My aim is making them discover their full potential for them to end up being great and at par with the world standards in everything. I also love working with children and so I felt this was the best place for me.

Being an Akili Dada gap year student, I got trainings on work readiness, computer studies and photography - skills that were very useful to me as they made my work easier at the internship place in Sadili. During my internship, I participated in Court of Dreams (WASH) and Girl Power Clubs Africa programs. Girl Power Clubs Africa is a mentorship program meant for girls at Kibera in five partnering schools. I got to discuss with the girls many issues that they have to deal with as they grow up, including early pregnancies and abortion; menstrual hygiene; early marriage; body image; leadership among other topics. This program was fulfilling for me because I felt I gave myself up to bring out strong, self aware, high esteemed, great and empowered young ladies who indeed reflect a  better image of me while I was at their level.
Visiting schools under the Court of Dreams program such as Mary Rice which is a school meant for kids with special needs changed my perspective of life. The smiles in the kids’ faces, their warm welcome and their ‘thank yous’ at the end of every session made me realize that love makes life beautiful. One thing I loved about the school was the way the people around the kids treated them with love and dignity. They also constantly reminded them that they are great and encouraged them to face their fears. This made the kids realize that despite their conditions they have great capabilities in them.
I must agree that being at Sadili was a life changing journey and a learning platform for me. My role as a social educator and a coach helped me to gain skills such as patience, persistence, good communication skills, class management and all these made me stronger than ever before. Thank you Sadili for giving me this opportunity to maximize my strengths and share my knowledge which served to bring a change in the society."
Congratulations to Jemimmah for a job well done. We wish her all the best.

Internship at Sadili Yields Great Professional Experience: Intern Success Stories 3



Philipa Mtamira and Brighton Savayi were two of five interns who successfully completed a 3-month internship at Sadili on 28th July 2017. Here is what they had to say about their experience: 

Philipa Mtamira
"My name is Philipa Mtamira, a 3rd year Zambian student at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Development Studies. I joined Sadili in May 2017 as an intern Social Educator, a position I held for three months. I was actively involved in two of Sadili’s programmes: the Court of Dreams (WASH) and Girl Power Clubs Africa programme.

My work involved a lot of field work because these programs target Kibera informal settlement. One of the most important lessons I learnt was how sport can be integrated with life skills training especially in the Court of Dreams (WASH) program. As a matter of fact, sport plays an integral role towards societal transformation and improvement in the sense that children are not only given the chance to play but also an opportunity to learn life skills in a fun environment. I learnt to use sports like tennis and other games to get to help children to understand themselves more and be able to build their self-esteem. 

Girl Power Clubs Africa sessions gave a platform for me to share with young girls my personal experiences growing into the young woman I have become. It was also an opportunity for me to learn from them as we always discussed the many issues girls face as they grow up.

My biggest challenge was walking under the scorching sun almost every day for fieldwork. However, I kept reminding myself that a Social worker is never afraid of embracing work in the field. In addition I was encouraged by the fact that through Sadili, I had become an agent of positive change in Kibera. The joy of seeing children happily playing during our sessions with them also kept me going. In a nutshell, sports for development especially in a case where children are the target members is a great initiative; an initiative that expands their possibilities and horizons in life.

My being at Sadili Oval was a real learning experience of new discoveries, adventures and putting into practice the theories learnt in school. I am thankful that I got that wonderful opportunity, and I am looking forward to putting into practice the lessons I learnt."

 

Brighton Savayi
"I am Brighton Savayi, a third year student at St. Elizabeth University of Social Work and Health Sciences, in collaboration with the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, pursuing a Bachelors degree in Social Work. It is a requirement by the institution and the ministry of education that for one to graduate, they ought to have gone through field practice. That is why I had to seek for a chance to join Sadili Oval Sports Academy.  I joined the organization on 8th May, 2017 as an intern, social educator. 

The first time I heard of Sadili Oval Sports Academy, I could not figure out how a sports academy could be helpful to a deserving community like Kibera. What motivated me were the programs the organization is offering to the community, including the WASH program (court of dreams), Ushindi Boys Club program, Empower my Life program and Girl Power Clubs Africa program. I joined Sadili oval sports Academy on the 8th May, 2017 as an intern. 

I had set down my objectives that I intended to achieve by the end of my internship at Sadili. Some of them include the quest for experience; desire to apply class work knowledge, and testing the applicability of theories to real life. For real, I had set my mind with very high expectations.

My stay at Sadili at first was hectic, considering the fact that I had never encountered people from Kibera informal settlement one on one. I had challenges walking in the hilly terrains of Kibera while going for sessions in schools, and on dry days, I endured the dust. I also had a challenge working with children as some could be stubborn sometimes. I now acknowledge the fact that all these challenges were there to strengthen us. 

My most memorable experience of all, however, was working with special needs children of Mary Rice School. Working with them was such a good experience, and with the help of their teachers, I got to understand that they just need a little more attention than the average child to win them.

As I continued having sessions with children, I got so used to them that even now, a day away from them really gives me a hard time because I miss them.  The challenges of dust, terrain, I just got used to, and had to convince myself that it is natural, and that the organization can’t be in control.

Some of the activities I was involved in while at Sadili included: Conducting life skills sessions for both Court of Dreams (WASH) project and Ushindi Boys Clubs programme; data entry, collecting data for Monitoring & Evaluation, planning and implementation of tournaments and very many other activities. I also got to actively participate in the celebration of the Day of the African Child in June 2017. It is through these fulfilling activities that I felt all my objectives had been achieved.

I applied widely class work into my field practice; I experienced and understood what it means to work with the community and I had a better understanding of what the community in Kibera needs, one of them being economic empowerment of the youth.

To any student who would like to gain real world experience and is ready and willing to work with the community, I highly recommend Sadili Oval Sports Academy. It is not an easy call, but what you do, how you do it and your attitude towards work will determine whether or not you succeed.

To the organization, thank you and congratulations for all you do. You have the community at heart and you are doing all you can to give the best. Keep the fire burning!"

Internships at Sadili provide exciting opportunities for students to gain on-the-job experience in many different aspects.We invite you to become part of our success story.



Internship at Sadili Yields Great Professional Experience: Intern Success Stories 2



Meet Aurelia Mito and Hassan Noor, two of five interns who recently completed their internship at Sadili Oval Sports Academy. They share their experiences during the internship, and have a lot of positive things to say. Read on!

Aurelia Mito
“My name is Aurelia Kue Mito, a third year Social Work student at St. Elizabeth University of Health and Social Work in collaboration with the Catholic University of Eastern Africa. For three months I was an intern at Sadili Oval Sports Academy where l worked mainly under three programmes: the Court of Dreams, Empower my Life and Girl Power Clubs Africa.

My experience at Sadili was very insightful and a real eye-opener for me. It pushed me to use my skills best way I possibly could. I found Empower my Life programme particularly enjoyable because of the games that came with it. Addressing the kids during every life skills session was quite a challenge in the beginning because I lacked the confidence. However, after weeks of practice in the field, I improved and by the end of my internship I was able to talk to them with confidence.

Even though walking to Kibera almost daily was not an easy task due to its terrains, I got a lot of encouragement from my more experienced colleagues at Sadili and this made me have an even more positive attitude towards working with the underprivileged children in Kibera. I had a chance to talk to some kids who were willing to share about their families’ lives, their struggles and how they managed to overcome the many challenges they face living in the slums. I found some of the stories quite moving, but most importantly I was inspired by the positive attitude that the kids exhibited. The happiness in their eyes always made my days!

Getting real life experience as a social educator in such a good environment is something I do not take for granted. I am very grateful to Sadili for having given me the chance to work with them, and I am certain the skills I acquired will be useful in future.”

Hassan Noor


"I am is Hassan Noor Muhammed, a 3rd year student pursuing a Bachelors of Arts degree in Social Work at St. Elizabeth University of Social Work and Health sciences in collaboration with the Catholic University of Eastern Africa. I recently completed my three-month internship as a Social Educator at Sadili Oval Sports Academy.

During my internship, I actively took part in two programmes: the Court of Dreams (WASH) and Ushindi Boys Clubs. I came to Sadili with the idea that all of our activities would be carried out in their offices located in Lang’ata. However, I was surprised when I learnt that most of my working hours would be spent in Kibera informal settlement, the area that Sadili’s programmes target. I had heard a lot of bad stories about Kibera, and the idea of working there was initially not easy to accept. However, after listening to other experienced staff talk about their positive experiences, I accepted the challenge.

Open sewers, dirt filled routes and the hilly terrain of the slum were initially a challenge; but these were things I quickly overcame. Within no time I felt very at home while walking in Kibera.  

One of the most valuable lessons I learnt, particularly in the Court of Dreams programme, was the fact that sports could be linked with life skills, and that children are more eager to learn when the two are put together.

I was also involved in data collection, data entry as well as interviewing children in a way that I could get all the information I needed from them. I am looking forward to putting into practice these skills in future when I'll be dealing with children.

Sadili gives interns an opportunity to expand their skills and also learn how to link sports and life skills as a tool when working with the community. I would advise any person ready to expand his/her skills and to gain experience to not hesitate to join this great organization."

Sadili is extremely proud of these interns for the progress they made during their internship. We wish them all the best in their future endeavours.