I want to share with you a story of the beautiful minds of our Kisa girls at Mwika Secondary School. I have worked at AfricAid for six months, but have been involved with empowering girls through different organizations for over three years. I have seen many 2 Day Challenges (where our Year Two Scholars form into groups and design a small development project for their community) and I think the activity performed by the students at Mwika needs special recognition. I am so proud of them!
Our 2 Day Challenge group wanted to fix a major problem in their school, which was no privacy for the toilets, cracked and dirty floors in the bathrooms, and wash room facilities that were not pleasant. The aim was a big one and they rallied the whole school to support them. They fundraised in the wider community and asked the Head of the School to help them with resources.
When the day came to implement the project, the girls helped the technicians with mixing sand, preparing the floor for cement, painting the walls, and placing a mirror between wash basins and toilets. They could not afford to get the new doors but they believe that they made great headway and someday there will be someone or some group who will fill the gap.
I really appreciated what these real change makers did. In addition to leaving a lasting improvement to their school, they have raised the bar for our upcoming Kisa girls at Mwika. As the younger girls looked at their sisters carrying cement, I asked them a few challenging questions:
“Will you be able to run with this 2 Day challenge?”
“Will you continue with the project, having learned so much from your older friends?”
The whole school community has benefitted from the renovated facilities. The day that the bathrooms were opened was a joyous one. There was a ribbon cut and all the teachers, the Head of the School and the entire student body was there. The Head of the School could not say enough good things about our Kisa Scholars’ effort and AfricAid’s innovative program. He said, “This thing you have done is very good, and because it’s good, you must maintain it.” Next year, our school will celebrate our 25 year Jubilee and since you have made history, we will be sure to mention what Kisa has done.”
What a great lesson for everyone involved. Identifying problems, believing we can make a difference, and joining together can result in making life better. Well done to our Mwika young leaders!
Read about A Day in the Life of a Scholar at Mwika in this blog.
