It was a buzzing sea of the glorious white and blue uniforms in the Pangani Girls assembly hall, songs of praise, worship and prayer, a typical Pango tradition, kicked off the 2018 Mentorship calendar. It was the first of several group mentorship days at the school with ecstatic newbie first formers and chilled second formers.

It was great momentum from the 2017 big win for our Alma Mater! Pangani Girls was ranked as the most improved school of the year, producing the country’s top students in last year’s KCSE exam.

January’s mentorship day was a full day of sharing and interaction. The first formers were surprisingly confident and candid sharing very personal experiences of loss, confusion, depression and even attempted suicide.

Five alumni shared insights on depression, suicide, bullying, addiction and HIV/AIDS. The girls were left with some very powerful life lessons to keep them focused, engaged and driven throughout the semester.

To our surprise, as always Mrs Kirui, the guidance and counselling teacher (this woman deserves an award for her unrelenting dedication to ensure the girls get all the support they need to succeed), informed us of the new health club. The alumni found out in the middle of a presentation, sometime after lunch, so the launch was more like a notification devoid of the funfair and pomp we were used to. This didn’t matter the girls were revving and ready to go!

The club will tackle topics across all spheres of health and wellness, from reproductive, mental and public health to HIV/AIDS awareness. Dr Lydia Atambo will be the club patron assisted by the uber exuberant Dr Janet Githnji aka Toddie with more support from Dr Keziah k’Oduol and Dr Linda Nyamute.

During the lunch break, the team believed it was time to use the feedback from the girls to better address their concerns. The feedback they provided will be curated and analyzed to find the key areas of concern to the girls. With this knowledge, we can work together as alumni to directly address the girls’ top areas of need. Roselyn Wanjiru graciously offered to sift and arrange the feedback into usable data!

It’s all hands on deck as we walk into 2018 to ensure the girls get all the psychosocial support they need to be the best they can be; no matter their background or social situation! Using one of the most powerful quotes from the alumni today, “what lies behind you, and what lies before you, is nothing compared to what lies WITHIN YOU!”

If you want to join the alumni team in a mentorship capacity, drop us a line on info@panganigirlsalumni.org. Or if you prefer you can visit us on Facebook or register on our website!