By Peninah | Director
Growing up in the slums, a girl faces many challenges. Although for the first 15 years of her life Emily grew up in very grim circumstances with her ailing single mom, at Safe Spaces a ray of hope beamed down on Emily, and beamed down as well as on nine other girls assisted by the program.
Emily’s story is a happy story. In addition to Emily’s success, her mother was able to move to a rural home and receive better care during the time that Emily pursued her activities in the basketball program at Safe Spaces.
It was in the Basketball Program that dramatic changes occurred, altering the course of Emily’s life forever. Emily joined the Junior league and developed skills in basketball and team work. As she developed, she was trained as a peer educator and began teaching the junior class.
At Safe Spaces Emily also attended leadership trainings and became the junior team leader. Her self esteem reached new previously unknown heights; she became comfortable and confident with her newly obtained knowledge and skills. What a difference!
When Emily joined Safe Spaces seven years ago she was so naïve, shy, timid and her self-esteem was very low. Her mom encouraged her to participate in the Safe Spaces after school programs although it was out of her comfort zone. Through the Reproductive Health classes, Safe Spaces taught her the opposite of all her home teachings; Emily learned to love herself, to speak loud and clear, demonstrate confidence, to respect and take care of her body and never be intimidated by others. Emily was taught to express her feelings, share her problems and to set goals for her life.
At Safe Spaces Emily rapidly excelled in many areas including her basketball skills. Emily subsequently joined the Senior team and her performance levels increased. While training with a group of other girls, together they learnt skills far beyond the basketball court such as respect, confidence, teamwork and trust. These are only a few of the positive accomplishments gained by the girls through the basketball program. Happiness is a new reality for Emily and brings a feeling of empowerment over her future. She now dreams of becoming a Lawyer and bringing Justice to her community.
With that being said, Emily needed to continue her education, work hard to obtain her certificates and fulfill her goals. Facing her final exams, she knew she would pass her primary school exams with a high result but at that time she was nervous about the school fees which would be needed for high school.
However no efforts go unrewarded! Emily, along with nine other girls from the Safe Spaces basketball team, was assisted by Safe Spaces to attend the High School basketball scholarships try outs in Mombasa and the results were outstanding. After working very hard during all the basketball trainings, all the hours and sweat have paid off!
I am very proud that all TEN girls from our team, who tried out, scored the highest rankings and all TEN received full four-year high school scholarships, at various boarding schools. It is clear that basketball is a life-skill and not just a sport. Getting a basketball scholarship opens up the doors to fulfill dreams. Going to a boarding school had always been Emily’s dream and it is the ideal situation where the girls receive the best education while being kept safe, well fed and taken care of in a healthy environment.
My update almost a year later is that the girls will complete their first year of high school in 2 months and it is a great success.
And a special spotlight on Emily: During Emily’s first year she was appointed as the prefect in her class, which is a great honor and a reflection of her dedication, her commitment and the skills she has learnt at Safe Spaces. As the class prefect, she has the opportunity to manage more than three student cases on a daily basis in school, which prepares her to handle court portfolios and administration in future as a lawyer. She now understands that the lack of education is the greatest barrier for women in her society.
“Thank you Safe Spaces and our sponsors, when you give one girl an opportunity, they give birth to more opportunities that transform their lives. Am proud to be in Safe Spaces!” Emily
Greetings from Nairobi and wishing you all the very best in your life Endeavours!
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