By Rumbie Mzenda | Fundraising &Development
What an exciting journey it has been for the girls. Some who came barely able to look one straight in the face , too self conscious and extremely shy. They have blossomed , increased in self confidence and have developed a leap in their step. All this we could tell from the conversations we had at the Lunch we hosted to conclude last term's sessions. All the girls from Mufakose and their Mentors were hosted at the Makomborero Resource Center. Being the 1st of its kind we invited our past Makomborero gilrs from different year groups to come and share their stories and give motivational talks to the mentees. We had four ladies come in , the eldest was Pamela , now a seniour at Wellesley College in America , Sharon who is studying Medicine at the University of Zimbabwe, Charlegne from Edinburgh University in the UK and Yeukai also from Wellesley College. The girls shared passionately and honestly about their journeys , the challenges they have had to overcome and most of all making the Mentees realise that not so long ago they were just like them. Above all they represented a true testimony that there is hope and it is possible to fight the odds and achieve whatever you set your heart on. The biggest take away was it does not matter where one comes from , like Pamela narrated her story with tears down her cheeks, a girl from Budiriro and the family struggles she has had and where she is now! The afternoon ended with chattering and laughter as all the girls sat down to share a meal together.
The Mentors also got to share some feedback forms with the girls to evaluate the programme. Most of the responses were quite positive with most of them noting that there is nothing they wanted to change and were happy with the programme. The most popular session was the one on sharing stories, highlighting hopes , fears, any hardships. With most of them noting that it helped them realise that they were not the only ones in the situation they were in. Another mentee noted that it changed her and she realised she could love and appreciate herself despite the circumstances. Maya Angelou's story was also notable to the girls, with them citing that it opened them up to great possibilities and that every job can be done by a women! On the changes they have experienced so far, confidence was the biggest highlight and that we couldn't agree with them more. With confidence came also courage, and some noted that they had been too reserved but now can interact with others and even speak in front of the class. Notable was the mentee who indicated that the sessions had given her greater perspective of life and can now aim higher , she had managed to overcome her fear and limitations she had put upon herself.
This term the girls look forward to their final sessions of the programme. They are still working on their crotcheting and will finally put together their blanket after a few more squares each , hoping to delve into more inspiring books. Sadly two of the Mentors, Belinda and Chenai have left for university in the States and they continue with Ruramai and Ropa. They are both excited and looking forward to reunting with the girls after weeks away on school holidays. This term they will covering Body Language, Public speaking and Goal setting among many others all which will help the Mentees grow in confidence.
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By Rumbie Mzenda | Fundraising and Development
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