Communications | Program Mentor| Kisa Program | 28th February 2023
Lida recounts her time as a GLAMI Program Mentor and the special impact she had on one of her scholar
“I am so inspired by my Mentor’s confidence, public speaking skills, interaction skills, how she handles situations with how she always brings something new every time she comes to the class. She presents without fear yet with joy, integrity and composure;that motivates me a lot. The best part is she appears very simple but when she speaks, you can’t fail to notice how powerful she is,” says Immaculate, Year 2 Kisa Scholar.
As I joined the team of mentors last year, I was so excited to have my first class, I was not scared but excited to see how these lovely young girls have already transformed;I was actually also looking forward to learning from them. When I went to my class, I noticed Immaculate was not in the first session after I went through the attendance sheet. Concerned by this, I started following up on why she didn’t come to class that day. After the session, the Class Captain came to me and explained that Immaculate thinks it’s hard to balance her Kisa Program sessions with her studies, given that she takes the PCB (Physics, Chemistry and Biology) subjects. I then asked the Class Captain to ask Immaculate to come to my next session as I would love to talk to her about this challenge.
I remember being a Kisa Program Scholar at Cornerstone Leadership Academy, taking the same subjects as Immaculate for my Advance studies. At first it was hard to balance my studies with the Kisa Program sessions, but because I had so much interest in the Kisa lessons I made sure I balanced the two. Now, I am here as a Programs Mentor who passed with flying colors on her Advance exams. I wanted to use my lived experience to help inspire Immaculate and during my next session Immaculate came and I explained how I was in a similar situation to her when I was in school. I understood Immaculate’s intention but was curious to let her understand the benefits of Kisa Program sessions , the PCB subjects and how helpful it would be if she could only balance the two. That if she plans her timetable well and follows it, then everything else is possible. During our talk Immaculate said that she loves public speaking, sharing and presenting ideas and wants to be an icon for change in her community, that she really wanted the best for herself but didn’t know how to balance the two.
After meeting with Immaculate, she started attending the sessions again and I wanted to help her achieve all that she said she wanted to be in the future. I never knew that I became Immaculate’s role model until one day, when I asked my scholars to send feedback of our previous three sessions and to my surprise, Immaculate stated that I was her role model. It was so touching to know that Immaculate saw me as her role model and I wanted to put in extra effort into making sure she becomes the leader she has always wanted to be.
Being a Kisa Program scholar has transformed Immaculate, giving her the motivation and skills to become a confident public speaker.
“It has always been my dream to be a good public speaker. To be able to present my ideas, views, opinions, to educate youth especially young girls in a way that they will understand and won’t find boring. I have always wanted them to be inspired by me. I had that wish even before I joined the Kisa Program, but I did not know how to do it. Not because I wasn’t able to speak to people but because I did not know how I could present my ideas in a very creative, confident and inspiring way. When I joined the Kisa Program, it was my goal to improve my speaking and interaction skills, and also to speak good English without fear. I like being a Kisa Scholar, and especially my mentor, Madam Lida, who has given me a wonderful platform to practice my public speaking skills and helped me to learn from my mistakes so that when I graduate from the Kisa Program, I will be able to be the person I want to be.” Immaculate says confidently.
“ Our Mentor always tells us this, ‘I know we are all Tanzanians, no one is perfect in English and no one was born with public speaking skills, only a few maybe. But this is good news, everyone can learn, everyone can work hard and be what she wants to be – so here is your platform to show us what you can do’. And this is what I believe: nothing comes for free or just by relaxing, as everything needs patience, faith in God and hard work. Sometimes it can be painful but in the end it will be okay,” says Immaculate.
When I asked Immaculate about her favorite topic from the Kisa sessions, she said, “My favorite topic in the Kisa Program is Public Speaking and Tough Talk. The lessons have helped me so much in building my confidence, arranging my speeches, being a good listener and having good posture and style while doing presentations or public speaking. I’ve started using these skills in one of my religious sessions in a motivational program. I was one of the speakers and, truth be told, I did very well! So many people appreciated me because I presented in a very creative, confident and inspiring way. I am still learning a lot of things and I am so grateful for GLAMI,especially my Mentor, for always being there for us and for doing everything in her power to make sure that us young girls discover our potential and be the source of change in our societies.”
Being a Mentor is not just a title, it’s a responsibility to help these young girls be better than they have ever been, to be there for them when they change the status quo, when they decide to break the barrier, when they need someone to hold their hand, to encourage them and just be their cheerleader.- Lida, Programs Mentor
As a Mentor, I have learned that students always observe everything we do, how we speak, how we teach, how we handle situations and everything that we do may either break or make them, teach or destroy them, encourage or discourage them.
Being a Mentor is not just a title, it’s a responsibility to help these young girls be better than they have ever been, to be there for them when they change the status quo, when they decide to break the barrier, when they need someone to hold their hand, to encourage them and just be their cheerleaders. Some students may not speak about how much we inspire them or change their lives, but their actions will always speak louder than their words.
My favorite topic in the Kisa Program is Public Speaking and Tough Talk. The lessons have helped me so much in building my confidence, arranging my speeches, being a good listener and having good posture and style while doing presentations or public speaking. Immaculate, Kisa Program Scholar
