MY VISIT TO ENCHORO ENYORE PRIMARY SCHOOL
On 6th, July, 2023, I had the wonderful opportunity of visiting a primary school in Kajiado County. My business as usual was to listen to the youth and initiate mentorship. I had a fruitful interaction with over 100 pupils drawn from class 8 and junior secondary. The ratio of boys to girls was almost equal. The pupils were very lively and active; but a bit noisy. I guess this number was too large; Class control was quite challenging for me.I guess next time, I will endeavor to deal with a smaller number.
I started off by validating them through highlighting key issues such as;
- The fact that as children, they are the most precious gift to their parents, communities and our society at large.
- That their parents love and value them greatly .That parents always wish the best for their children and that is why they usually discipline them whenever they make mistakes.
- That they are wonderfully and beautifully made by God .Therefore, one should accept himself /herself as a precious person, whether male or female.
- That in our lives, there are priorities at any given stage; as students, their priority is to pursue education in preparation for a bright future.
- That effective time management is very important; they should establish a routine, order and discipline.
- That God created them boys and girls with a clear purpose; that one day they will grow up to take up their roles as fathers and mothers. That they should embrace, accept and celebrate their differences as male and female and the natural body changes which occurs biologically, physically and emotionally.
CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE PUPILS
This being my very first visit to the school, I sought to find out from the pupils, some of the challenges that they face as youth. In groups, they discussed among themselves and listed them down on papers. I later analyzed them and I have arranged them in terms of the most common from the pupils. There were 47 groups. The following are the issues that they listed down as challenges/problem which they believe are facing the youth;
SUMMARY OF DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS
| S/NO | CHALLENGE/PROBLEM | PERCENTAGE | REMARKS |
| 1 | Poverty/lack of food/lack of finances | 78.2% | Could be due to the prolonged drought |
| 2 | Alcoholism and drug abuse | 56.5% | |
| 3 | Peer pressure | 32.6% | |
| 4 | Child abuse and neglect
|
32.6% | |
| 5 | Early marriage &pregnancy | 30.4% | |
| 6 | stress | 21.7% | |
| 7 | Spiritual weakness | 19.5% | To establish what this implies |
| 8 | Poor relationships | 17% | |
| 9 | FGM | 17% | |
| 10 | Low self esteem | 17% | |
| 11 | School drop out | 17% | |
| 12 | Sport injuries | 10.8% | |
| 13 | Self – control | 10.8% | |
| 14 | Self – awareness | 10.8% | |
| 15 | Rape and defilement | 10.8% |
Other challenges which they pointed out included the followings;
- Lack of sanitary pads
- Conflicts in the family
- Poor performance
- Being orphaned by HIV?AIDs
- Poor communication with parents and friends
OBSERVATIONS AND SUGGESTED WAYFORWARD.
These pupils are very much aware of the challenges facing them and their fellow youth in general. The issues raised will form the basis for our future mentorship since these issues are very much in line with Osim mentors program. Such include;
- Awareness on alcohol and drug abuse
- Life-skills to promote self- awareness and self-assertiveness,
- Effective communication skills
- Relating with others
With support from good Samaritans we can adequately address the above issues. I wish we could also get donations in terms of sanitary pads and foodstuffs.:hese are some of the critical factors that affect school attendance among pupils,especially girls during their monthly periods.
There is need to hold seminars with parents and guardians.Some of the challenges facing school children and youth originate from the family set-up. In addition, parents need to be aware that parenting need to be done in an intentional manner.
