In March 2017, we held our annual PA-MOJA scholarship day at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in the grounds of Pelican house. We hosted 45 students currently on the PA-MOJA Ol Pejeta Community Conservation Scholarship and 5 graduates of the program who are admitted at different universities in Kenya. The theme of the day was Solutions. The students had various discussions amongthemselves and the PA-MOJA team about the various solutions to challenges that the encounter in their academic pursuit. Every year, we hold such a day at the conservancy to provide mentorship for the students and also give them a chance to meet members of the PA-MOJA team. This year, the Keynote speakers were Jon Bonnar, the principal of Langley fine art school and Mr Kipaloi the District Education Officer Laikipia East.
The event happened Symposium style with the students sitting in groups and each of them facilitated by one of the graduated scholarship students. Students from the different schools held candid discussion about wellbeing issues such as distractions from their education, interpersonal interactions in the school community, romantic relationships. They also talked about the perennial fear for some subjects especially mathematics and sciences. With each of the challenges, there was considerable deliberation on how different students have dealt with them with varying degrees of success. By sharing the ways they deal with these, they developed different frameworks to teach and learn from each other.
The university students and the PA-MOJA team were at hand to assist them and give them the benefit of their experience. Afterwards, each of the teams had someone present the solutions to the whole group and compare various interventions. When this first part was done, the students were treated to speeches from the D.E.O and Mr Bonnar. The D.E.O talked about the value of their role in their communities and the importance of applying themselves to their intellectual and co-curricular pursuits with diligence. My Bonnar challenged them to dare to be different and challenge traditional assumptions to empower themselves and their communities through their educational success. As always PA-MOJA and the Ol Pejeta wishes them the best of luck.
Ian Muiruri
Photo Credits Emily Lerosion
Great event! So glad to see everyone coming together.
I am also very happy by seeing how PA-MOJA is bringing students together by helping them.I love PA-MOJA very much.
This looks like an amazing day. Love the photos of familiar faces!
That means that PA-MOJA has really worked hard to promote unity agaist us.Much thanks.
So amazing, am just thrilled by how Pa-moja is growing, and that means more kids have now hopes and hopes to access education, the number of burseries offered to kids has grown, I hope and do pray that Pa- moja grows to help more kids back in Kenya here who are in need of education but unable to access it due to poverty. PA-MOJA IENDE MBELE!
Very true Victor.PA-MOJA IENDE MBELE.Pa-moja has really helped Kenya very much in cultural exchange and also much much in education.I know students who are being greatly helped by PA-MOJA who are doing well in education in our school(classmates)TUKO MBELE NA PA-MOJA SANA.
I remember meeting the bursary students in 2014. Such inspiring students! Wish I could have been there this year.
Much thanks to PA-MOJA.PA-MOJA ISONGE MBELE!!.Am really happy with what PA-MOJA has been doing since I knew about it and much intrested in its hardwork,kindness and love.May God bless this work.I love PA-MOJA.
TUKO MBELE NA PA-MOJA SANA.