1. Sctructured Academic and Motivational Services (SAM)
We offer honest and reality-based motivational talks that touch and evoke emotions hence encouraging hard work. Our talks align in length and depth with the struggling members of the community. Most of our members have gone through thick and thin to achieve their goals. All of us hail from the region; hence we clearly understand what ails the society and what challenges the students go through in their daily pursuit to education. We share our stories and how we managed to survive and succeed through motivational talks. This reminds them that they too can manage to maneuver through all the challenges and succeed in their academic journey. Most of the time, our stories and talks touch their hearts and by being there for them, sharing with them, we rekindle their dwindling hopes on education and lives. Since 2017, we have managed to visit more than 183 schools and forums across the country and mentored more than 150,000 audience featuring students at 80%, parents at 15% and teachers at 5%.
The session applies the Structured Academic Mentorship (SAM) which practically uses Expectation-Challenge-Solution (ECS) Model to offer the services. The model provides ample and transparent way of engaging and interacting with the audience from the ‘individual, point of view but with general aspect of impacting the entire audience. The model is a combination of problem finding and solving laced by motivation and inspirational narratives.
2. Career Guidance Services (CGS)
ECE offers academic career guidance to students from as young as 8 years to their completion in High school. We advise them on their career choices and guide them on how to prepare for their national examinations and what to focus on depending on their career choices. We are also championing for the Technical and Vocational Training institutes for enrolment as this offers hands-on experience to the graduates.
The roll out of the new curriculum, the Competency Based Curriculum is a great opportunity that will identify and enhance the talent and skills at the tender age of a child. We acknowledge that career choice often changes with time and mostly dependent on the academic performance of the candidate and our constant engagement is important to give both the candidates and the parent’s opportunity to understand the process and the dynamics in the process and be in a position to make the informed choices.
3. Life Skills, Reproductive Health and Behaviour Change- LSRHBC
We offer personal and development life skills to pupils, students and youth in the society so that they live an upright life that correlates well with the rest of the community. The curriculum is developed in a way that it promotes life skills but due to competition on ‘passing examinations’ schools and teachers have given less attention to the necessary life skills development in schools- something that has been attributed to poor interpersonal relationship and poor work ethics of the graduates.
In our area of jurisdiction, cases of high teenage sex, pregnancy, early marriages, alcoholism and gambling has led to massive school dropouts, increased crime and increased poverty due to low literacy level. Gender based violence is on the rise because most women are uneducated and barely understands their rights.
Key activities in this pillar include:
- The Jilinde Initiative (SRHR)- 10 Schools
- SkillEd Program (Skills for Education)
4. Leadership & Governance Academy (LGA) Program
ECE provides leadership training for the student councils/leaders and focuses on transformational leadership across the schools and out of school set up for the youth. With dynamic leadership lapse in schools, the Elgon Centre for Education offers cutting edge leadership skills and induction in order to raise a generation of knowledgeable decision makers. We help in harmonizing the relationships between the learning institutions administration and the student bodies in order to achieve both institutional and individual targets. This was necessitated by the school unrests that rocked schools countrywide in the recent years where there has been a mismatch between administrations and student leadership.
Figure 3- Toroso High School Student Leaders sharing individual and collective challenges while serving the school fraternity.
The Key areas of focus in the students Leadership program include: Ethics, integrity, Responsibility, Decision Making, Communications and the National Values and Principles of Governance as in Article 10 of the Kenya’s Constitution.
Further, we carry out community dialogue programs using the new scientific dialogue called ‘Structured Democratic Dialogue Process’ (SDDP) in finding solutions for the complex issues facing the society and we are focusing more on education diplomacy, Leadership and Governance, Youth Empowerment, environmental diplomacy, health and cultural diplomacy.
Programs-
Leadership & Governance – Toroso Secondary School
Civic Education – Pending due to lack of resources
5. Jiamini Education Scholarship Fund (JESF)
In the course of our mentorship programs, we have come across many students who despite the fact that they would love to stay in school and study, but the inability of their parents to cater for their fees is what demotivates them a lot. While they appreciate our mentorship program, it counts less if they will end up dropping due to difficulties in school fees payment.
Many students in our area of jurisdiction drop out of school citing lack of school fees due to poverty within their families. We believe education will only improve the livelihoods of the poor people in the region and together with our partners and likeminded organizations; we are going to achieve this.
Some victims of teenage pregnancies and teenage mothers whose education is cut and willing to continue with their education; the victims of alcohol and substance abuse as well will qualify for this scholarship to pursue education. The government agencies and other organizations majorly focuses on the bright A students and partly B students and C students with other talents are left to survive on their own. These left out group forms the largest part of local village and community development and is ready to see how to empower this lot academically and socially.