SEGA’s Education for Life and MK Program: Empowering Girls for a Brighter Future
Editor’s Note: At SEGA Girls’ School, education goes beyond traditional academics. SEGA’s Msichana wa Kisasa (Modern Girl, “MK”) Community Outreach Program and SEGA Girls’ School’s Education for Life Program are enhanced by education about sexual reproductive health and rights, life skills, and entrepreneurship, empowering students to become learners and leaders of social change. In this blog, written by Jessica—who is now a graduate of the University of Dar es Salaam with her bachelor’s degree in educational psychology and is interning in the SEGA Girls’ School communications department, and by Magreth—a Form 4 student studying business at the SEGA Girls’ School who wishes to pursue journalism, we hear from two inspiring individuals whose lives have been transformed by SEGA’s programs.
Magreth: Embracing Skills for Personal and Community Growth (SEGA Student)
SEGA’s Education for Life Program has taught me how to conduct professional business, become an entrepreneur, hands-on skills such as sewing that I can use after SEGA and pass down to my family, and to be a leader and a mentor. By being a member of the Sauti ya dada (Girls’ Voice) Club, I have greatly improved my leadership skills and have a better understanding of my rights and responsibilities as a girl in Tanzania. I wish to share all the skills I have learned in SEGA’s Life Skills program with my community through SEGA’s MK Program by educating mentees to stand for their rights. I will share with them how they can raise their voices to end gender discrimination. I wish to teach them how they can make their own money by being a good entrepreneur. I wish one day to stand up for other girls in Tanzanian society. From SEGA I have learned how to show girls how to break the chain of gender discrimination. I believe in educating a girl because naturally, an educated girl brings about an educated society.
Jessica: A Journey of Empowerment (MK Program Mentor)
SEGA Girls’ School taught me life and entrepreneurship skills, self-awareness, positive and healthy relationships, and leadership skills. These skills support my life, as I use them as a tool to solve problems for others and for myself. I definitely use them as an MK Program Mentor. With the girls and young women that I mentor, I focus on bringing them together with love at the center, and I make sure to lead with love so that we can all love and trust each other as a mentee group. I help other girls like me solve emotional, psychological, and even physical problems. I educate girls on behavior and how to live well with others. I use the entrepreneurship skills that I learned at SEGA to teach MK Program girls how to be successful entrepreneurs. I teach them how to make products to sell in their communities, like peanut butter and jam. SEGA’s Education for Life Program taught me that as a mentor in my community, I need to get to know my girls through stories of shared and similar situations and challenges that we share. I use this to connect with each of the mentees. I encourage students not to give up and that situations always change for the better. Through these skills, I teach girls to become more self-aware and independent as young women in Tanzanian and global society. These skills will help the mentees in the future as they pursue careers or while leading their families.
SEGA’s holistic education, encompassing life skills and entrepreneurship programs have proven to be a catalyst for change in the lives of girls like Jessica and Magreth. The skills they acquired at SEGA have empowered them to become influential mentors and leaders in their communities. As Nurturing Minds and SEGA continue to collaborate, the impact on girls’ education and social change in Tanzania continues to grow. Through the dedication of individuals like Jessica and Magreth, SEGA’s mission of nurturing confident and successful young women becomes a reality, one empowered girl at a time.
About Nurturing Minds and SEGA:
Nurturing Minds, a US-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, partners with SEGA (Secondary Education for Girls’ Advancement) to provide quality education, life skills, and entrepreneurship training to girls in Tanzania. SEGA, a Tanzanian non-profit organization, envisions a society where girls are confident and women succeed in learning, earning, and leading social change. With SEGA’s dedication and support from Nurturing Minds, the lives of Tanzanian girls are being transformed. For more information, visit www.nurturingmindsinafrica.org.