DANDELION KENYA ENABLES GIRLS VOICES TO BE HEARD & THEIR PARTICIPATION IN SOCIETY VALUED- MUMBI’S VOICE
A program such as “I choose my life ” is a rare opportunity that I honestly wish every student going through high school would get a chance to participate in as it is life changing. The program also helped me to be an active member in the society .My participation in leadership and community work which was highly boosted by Dandelion Kenya contributed a lot to my application to African Leadership Academy, a world class leadership school for brilliant talented young African youths with a vision of improving Africa and am hoping to join the school come September,2015
My name is Naomi Mumbi, formerly a student of Nakuru Girls High School. I consider my admission to Nakuru Girls the greatest blessing n my life .It is at the school that I first interacted with Catherine Nyambura and other staff members of Dandelion Kenya as they started the “I choose my life program ” in my school. What attracted me most to join the group is the fact that there was much teaching on women and girls. Catherine has been my teacher and mentor on matters of life as a young girl .I got to learn a lot on HIV/AIDS,HUMAN RIGHTS,SEXUALITY and PERSONAL GROWTH. Every Tuesday I would start my day joyfully as i awaited a session with Cate (as we usually referred to her).I was so in love with the program that I and other girls found the one session not adequate to quench our thirst for knowledge of life and would often request her for extra time over the weekends and she would always find time to come over whenever she could.
Interacting and learning from Kate helped me to grow emotionally. I learnt to value myself more than others gave me credit for .My self esteem grew so much and i learnt to manage the leadership positions given to me by the school a lot better as the program also teaches a lot on leadership. I personally got so close to Cate and began to trust her like a sister and she helped me to overcome a difficult past that i had gone through. Her confidentiality was of utmost value to most of us girls as we managed to share with her and she guided us through our difficulties and made life in high school much easier.
A program such as “I choose my life ” is a rare opportunity that i honestly wish every student going through high school would encounter as it is life changing. The program also helped me to be an active member in the society .My participation in leadership and community work which was highly boosted by Dandelion Kenya contributed a lot to my application to African Leadership Academy, a world class leadership school for brilliant talented young African youths with a vision of improving Africa and am hoping to join the school come September,2015.The lessons i learnt under the program continue to be very useful to me upto date and i continue to apply them in my daily life. The program transformed me for the better and am a more informed and more knowledgeable young African. At eighteen am able to identify challenges in my society and come up with applicable solutions. I just cannot forget my experience with Kate and every day i can’t help but wish i could still have the sessions but unfortunately its rather impossible now. I am just so grateful to Catherine and Dandelion Kenya Organization for their commitment to mentoring young people so that they become better members of the society. I strongly encourage them to continue with the good work as it is invaluable.
God bless Dandelion Kenya Organisation.
Dandelion Kenya is a non-profits grassroots organization based in Nakuru Kenya. Dandelion Kenya focus is to enable access to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights information and services to women and girls and empower their constituents economically. The I Choose , My Life is a youth ( Comprehensive Sexuality Education) program that targets young people 13-20 years mostly in school and currently has been run in more than 15 schools, 1 college and a mixture of secondary and primary schools in Nakuru.
