Girl Child

AUGUST 2024

We are so pleased to report that we have had a great term 2 at Girl Child! The winter was a kind one this year, but we still managed to squeeze in a few sessions outside in the sun – the mentees really love those! For all three schools, the attendance was very encouraging, particularly because we are acutely aware of the situations our mentees are coming from. Most have to do chores in order to leave the house in the morning. Some inevitably would have slept on an empty stomach, not had any breakfast and find it difficult to get going in the mornings. We are humbled that most of them still attended every weekend and we salute them for this.

The term started with the Programme Founder, Mrs A, doing a Crochet and Doughnut Morning with our mentors! A great skill to learn for mentors who had never crocheted. This is an essential skill that is also passed on to mentees and we hope that they can use it as a source of income should they need to.

Sessions

Before the sessions even started, we had some of our partner schools get in touch with us to tell us the mentees could not wait to get started! We love that they had had such a great time in the first term that they could not wait to be at the sessions again. When we finally began, we focused this term on continuing to build the girls up not only in who they are but how they fit in in their families, schools and communities. Through the teachings and discussions, we watched the mentees grow in confidence. They participated more in the sessions and were more open and allowed themselves to be vulnerable. We heard stories of how they were making small changes in things like their speech, attitude, body language and we were truly inspired by the impact they felt they are having in their friendship groups and their families.

All mentees learnt new ways of crocheting from their mentors! They were excited to be using some bright wool colours they hadn’t used before. We can’t wait to put together baby blankets soon and give those away.

Library books have continued to be a great hit at our sessions! Some girls had never read outside of school curriculum material. They were pleasantly surprised at how much they enjoyed reading novels, starting slowly in the first term and reading more during this term. We also enjoy their honestly when we do book reviews with them. In one session we all laughed heartily when one mentee expressed how annoyed she was to find a book she had taken out was a compilation of short stories. ‘It’s all over the place! I cannot finish it!’

We are so grateful to you our sponsors for making all parts of Girl Child Mentorship possible, including our snack time. Most people looking from the outside in may see these snacks as a little pick-me-up during a two hour session. Over the years, we have seen more and more the value of these ‘little treats’. For a lot of girls, they are a meal. This term, as it was quite cold, we substituted the freezit with a banana at the mentors’ request. The girls happily welcomed this substitution.

End of term lunch

The most exciting day in the term as always is the end of term lunch! Many of the roads in Harare were being worked on at the time we held the lunch so it was a huge relief that all the mentees made it and on time. Mentees were awarded with small chocolate bars for best attendance and for reading the most library books through the term. Mrs A did a Q and A session and though our girls asked some hard and heartbreaking session, we felt that they walked away having being strengthened, helped and celebrated. Lunch was rice, beef casserole and coleslaw. Dessert was mini doughnuts. All of it a massive treat! We are so grateful to a local Zimbabwean donor who donated lentils to Makomborero. Each mentee walked away with 3kg of lentils to take to their families!

Mentors

We continue to be grateful to past Makomborero students who volunteer to keep these sessions going. We simply could not do this without them. Some of our mentors will be off to university as first year students in August/September and others are in the thick of their degree programmes. One mentor graduates from her Pharmacy degree this September. They are wonderful mix who come from the communities our mentees come from and are an incredible inspiration to them!

Thank you

A huge thank you to our partner schools who continue to welcome us at their schools! Though this term has gone really well, we are going through a terrible drought in the country. We are also very aware that the families our mentees are coming from are struggling to provide basic needs. We would like to thank you our donors, sponsors and friends of Makomborero for all that you provide to change the lives of these girls. We are excited for next term!!