Last Saturday, EdPowerment’s staff met with over 20 of our sponsored students to discuss their progress, review their needs, and even deliver a little tough love. One by one, we talked to each student, reviewing a mid-year report card where possible. Keeping it real, as Idol’s Randy Jackson says – some of the students are remarkable and others need a jump-start.
Earlier in the week, we had decided to retool our long-term sponsorship program a bit because we felt that our selected students needed to understand more clearly the importance of their role as leaders and role models. While we expect academic competency and full-on effort, we also require a willingness to share knowledge and success with others who have not had the fortune to be sponsored. Our sponsorship program, therefore, has been renamed Tomorrow’s Scholar-Leader Program.
Here's a sign at one of the boarding schools attended by our students:
As part of our semester review, we ask each participant to write an essay in response to a question – preferably in English, but also in Swahili if need be. This semester’s question was “Why do you deserve this sponsorship over any other applicant?”
Here, in their own words, is the Spirit of our sponsored family:
“One of my higher dreams and expectation is not only to be a doctor, but to be a good and responsible doctor in society. By being so, I have to get good and quality education... My parents have been showing every effort so that I could be what I want to me… but when I look back I see how hard they get to support the family and my siblings; this was a problem to me and my studies. For instance, one day my parent told me- what if I will study Pharmacy or a laboratory technician or even nursing first, then when I finish I will get a job… I couldn’t say anything because I understand the family situation and I am the eldest child. Myself I was not ready to do what my parents ask me to do because I really want to be a Gynocologist… Now I look strongly forward and I have enjoyed my pre-medicine year study in 2012-1013.
- Winnie
“…I also do some programs so as to maintain good performance like in the school, we have debate every Friday which helps us to understand more about English and also helps us to get confidence and stand in front of people with out any worry. In Kiswahili, we have formed something called CHAKIMASE which helps us to perform well in Kiswahili – the aim of doing all this is to prevent failure…”
-Veronica
“Because I want to change my society by giving them advice as an educated person. Example, the Maasai society do not want to take their girls to school. I can advise them that they should take them to school because if they are educated they can build and change Tanzania. A good example is the speaker of Tanzania, Anna Makinda. Not only girls but also boys should been taken to school because when they are educated they an advice there parent instead of doing nomadic pastoralism they can build ranch and get more profit and high quality cattles.”
-William
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