Internship Success Story 5: Trizah Mboya's Story

We are always proud of interns and volunteers who commit to their work and end up having fulfilling and worthwhile experiences. Meet Trizah Mboya, a 2^nd Year student at South Eastern Kenya University who recently completed her internship at Sadili and is now back to School. A beneficiary of Girl Power Clubs Africa program, Trizah has a lot of positive things to say about her experience. Here is her story:

“My name is Trizah Mboya, a former intern at Sadili Oval Sports Academy. I came to know about Sadili through their program Girl Power Clubs Africa back when I was still in class 7 at St. Michael’s Holy Unity Academy. Throughout the program I learnt a lot during the sessions that they had in the school. I have been able to learn a lot more during my internship at Sadili which has also widened my thinking and attitude on lots of things.

Throughout my stay in Sadili under the Court of Dreams program, I loved my experience with Mary Rice School- a school for special needs children. Despite their conditions, these children were so full of life. Their smiles, their happiness and positive attitude towards life were a big lesson to me. They taught me that despite any situation we maybe in life, we should always appreciate and love life. The court of dreams program has also been helpful as I engaged in data entry and also data collection which was really a fun thing to do and teaching of the daily lives. I have also been able to learn tennis as a sport which was one of the things I least expected to develop an interest in, but I have found it as a great and now as one of my favorite games. I have experienced a lot through the programs they have been conducting. The most exciting and important part is the relation with the people in the community. Although it was a challenge at first, I found it more exciting since it also gave me the tips of handling different people, accepting and appreciating the people living around us. This has made me strong and I have learnt to persevere more and also be ready to work in any environment.

Under Girl Power program I also had the chance to talk to girls like me and share different experiences of our daily lives. Women empower each other. I learnt a lot from the girls as we would talk openly of every situation we’ve faced as girls. I also admit that I learnt from the girls from their questions and answers. The different topics we’ve been sharing together like Leadership, Menstruation, Discipline and among others showed impact afterwards from the girls. I loved their company and how they will bring up one another to fight challenges.

Sadili has raised a platform in my life as I went through new discoveries, meeting new people and engaging with the community. I thank Sadili for inviting me in their programmes to work with them and gain good experiences from the programs. I am looking forward to practice everything taught here in Sadili in my daily life especially working with children.”

We value our interns and volunteers, and they return the favor with their hard work, talent and dedication.

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 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.

University of Minnesota Students Visit Sadili's Girl Power Clubs Africa

Sadili’s Girl Power Clubs Africa was thrilled to start the New Year by hosting students of the University of Minnesota on 4^th and 5^th January 2017. The 10 students, accompanied by their professor, Daheia J. Barr-Anderson, visited the country with the aim of exploring how in the Kenyan culture physical activity is used as a gateway to many aspects of life and how it can empower youth, especially girls.

“Sport is a big culture in the United States, and we believe it is the same in Kenya too,” said Prof Daheia. “I hope that by the end of our visit, the students will have a better understanding of how Kenyan girls use sports for empowerment”.

The team visited Olympic High School’s Girl Power Club during the 2 days where they had open discussions with the girls. They talked about how sport has changed their lives, school, life in America and Kenya and their personal lives. The Olympic High School girls also talked about the role of Girl Power Clubs in their education and development. The students also did a bit of football exercise, danced and did yoga.

“Before the students came I coached them on what to expect since for most of them were visiting this part of the world for the first time. I am happy that they feel welcome, and that they have been really inspired by the stories they have got from the girls at Olympic High School.” 

At the end of their visit, the university students gave little care packages to each of the girls. Each package consisted of sanitary pads, tissues, toilet paper, soap, sweets and a journal. The professor hopes to be back to Sadili next year with a different group of students from the university. 

Girl Power Clubs Africa is a leadership program focused on providing girls with a chance to learn life skills and learn to make decisions that affect their lives and their communities positively.

Dance

Yoga

Football excercise

Group discussion

A gift for everyone