TVT organises holiday mentorship seminar for the students sponsored by various donors as a way of enabling students to learn from their role.models and more important exchange on their challenges, successes and lessons learnt in their struggle to acquire education. In the past the seminar was only meant for TVT supported students (under the Earth Concern International sponsorship) but this year others from the sorrounding communities also joined. From the usual number of below 60 the April 26th mentorship.seminar was attended by over 200 students ranging from Class 7 to University.
They had to be dividend into groups to facilitate interactive discussion among them. Students in Nationa Schools and those in university gave testimonies of their struggles. They said of how they usually get discouraged by the behaviour of the students from rich families abd times they feel like giving up. The TVT supported students are bought all the neccessary items mostly toiletries and then given Ksh.500 -1000($5-10) for their pocket money. During the time of exchanging personal experiences and challenges, the students said their classmates from rich families are given between kshs.10,000 and 50,000($100-500) as pocket money and they openly brag about it. When they start bragging and spending lavishingly, the students from poor families feel like they don’t belong in the national schools some of them want to go.back to their rural local schools. They encouraged one another to focus on their studies and choose their friends and association companies wisely to avoid getting into drugs and sexual immorality as a way of getting extra cash. Those students in national schools and colleges shared practical tips with others on how they have managed to cope with peer pressure and how to survive on the little money they get from TVT and guardians.
The mentors emphasised on the need to change attitudes towards teachers and science subjects. Almost all students said that they disliked the subjects because of the rude behaviour of the teachers. All students agreed to have a positive attitude towards the science subjects even when the teachers are mean towards them. The next seminar will ve held during the August holidays at the TVT training centre. TVT is appealing for sponsors of the seminar in order to benefit more students from across the county. To support TVT youth mentorship programme contact us on [email protected]
