How our alumni “give back” through our new alumni peer mentorship program
Doris Miroya, on left, is one of the students CES supported through university. Here, she coaches two students at Musaga Secondary School preparing for examination for the all-important Kenyan Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE).
Peer mentorship has been defined as a relationship which has mutual benefits for all parties involved and is generally used to help a less experienced person achieve their goals by receiving assistance and guidance from a more experienced person. It aims to enhance supportive relationships between two people, sharing knowledge and experience and providing an opportunity to learn from different perspectives.
Peer mentoring has a positive impact on the emotional health and well-being of mentees. It enhances their social competence, building security within the setting and the wider community by realizing mentees’ worth as social beings other than improving attendance and educational attainment, whilst developing friendship skills in a positive environment. A mentor serves as role model, promotes raised aspirations, positive reinforcement, provides open-ended counselling and joint problem solving.
The CES Alumni have begun a peer mentorship program (CAPMP). Two planning meetings have been held in December 2021, with strong input from our Patron, Mr Malik Khaemba, Sarah Nabongo, CESCED Principal Patricia Makori and Juma Edwin Nyongesa, Alumni Chairperson.
Also, thirteen (13) mentors have been selected from those who had successfully completed leadership training under CESCED (CES School of Continuing Education). They have been matched with mentees from different secondary schools; and where possible, assigning them back to their alma mater for the piloting phase. Twenty-five (25) mentees are expected to be covered in the first phase of the program drawn from eleven (11) secondary schools. The program is set to commence in April 2022 with a kickoff training session for all involved.
Education dynamics are changing so fast especially as a result of COVID-19 and that means students need someone to hold their hand to navigate through these changes. For example, transiting from Secondary Education to College or University level cannot be assumed to be the norm anymore. A lot has changed and continues to evolve with students required to register for their studies online, have online orientation and even carry out online studies as directed by their respective institutions. There are no measures and mechanisms put in place to help students manage the current learning situation and other social life challenges, which makes CES’s peer mentoring program a timely thing that will help bridge this gap.
We are excited about what can happen this year. Just as we were mentored and helped along the way, so too as CES Alumni we give back by mentoring others coming behind us.
