As parents and caregivers the world over, Emily Wanjiku Mwangi, Director of the SAS Children’s Centre, works to get the SAS kids ready for secondary school. In Kenya, going to secondary school means going to a boarding school. For our children, who live in a small, rural community, this can be quite a change. Emily recently decided the SAS secondary school students would benefit from some direct mentoring in life skills. With this in mind, she organized a week of life skills training for the SAS teens during their spring break.
Emily used focused group discussion and team-building activities, as well as volunteer work and sports to keep the teens engaged and the lessons fun. Life skills addressed included:
- Social skills, including communication and behavioral skills
- Executive function skills including:
- Organization and goal setting
- Problem-solving and decision making
- Time management strategies
- Personal skills, including coping with emotions and stress management
A local young adult, Jackline Mwikali, assisted Emily with the activities and helped answer questions the teens had.
Emily says her goal is to motivate the children, promote total well-being and help them grow into happy and confident young adults.