Day 2 of the Workshop

The mentoring workshop is well underway! All 42 scholars arrived at the university yesterday afternoon. Many of them were very tired after a long day of travel (some children traveled over 6 hours to get here). The children go to seven different high schools, and so this has been the first chance they have had to all be together and meet each other. After a good night sleep, they woke up this morning in good spirits excited for the day.

The theme of the workshop has been leadership, the scholars have heard from different teachers and university staff how they can be the leaders of tomorrow. Head teacher Joanne Watsulu from Vanessa Grant School talked about the link between education, leadership and character. In a country which sees a lot of corruption from its leaders, the EFAC scholars are being taught that they can be different.

Another goal of the workshop is for the children to get to know one another. It is important that they know that they are not alone and that they are part of something bigger. Today has been a great day for them to relax and enjoy spending time together. This afternoon they had a break from the teaching sessions to play team building games and have fun. It was great to watch them playing basketball and laughing together and cheering one another on. One young girl told me today how it can be hard at school because fellow students sometimes make comments about their difficult backgrounds, but that from being at the workshop with other EFAC scholars, she is encouraged to go back to school and stand strong and keep pushing forward.

The children are amazing. They have been maintaining high grades (many of them straight A's) and are determined to succeed. In one session today, the scholars were given a chance to ask for advice about any problem or challenges they are facing at school. One girl told us that at primary school, she was always top of her class, but now in secondary school, she is coming in second highest in her class. She wanted to know how not to get discouraged by this now that she has new competition! This is the level of determination they have and shows the hard-work they are putting in to succeed.

We also talked about their dreams... and we heard about dreams to become chemical engineers and brain surgeons. They are not letting their background hold them back in any way, they are aiming high...and with our help, they will get there.

They all enjoyed the 'Hi from Denver' video and I think it helped them to really understand the scholarship program to be able to see faces of donors. Afterwards I recorded many of the scholars with their own message for everyone back home.

Thank-you for following along, I can't wait to upload some of the pictures and video messages from the kids. I have had some difficulty getting internet access while here at the workshop, but I will post again tomorrow and when I return home to Colorado next week, I will begin uploading!

Thanks for everyone's support, it's a privilege to see first hand the children whose lives have truly been changed by EFAC donors.