Kamrio Mentorship 7

Kamrio Mentorship 7 is the 7^th Mentorship Boot Camp at Kamrio village in East Pokot, Baringo County, Kenya.

Mentorship Boot Camps form part of the activities of Kamrio Mentorship in advancing efforts towards realization of education for every Pokot child by ensuring school going children find purpose and are more encouraged to continue and stay in school and realize their full potential.

Mentor June Pochot in deep discussions with her Mentees

The mentorship boot camp brings together mentors composed of young energetic and Christian individuals from different professional backgrounds to mentor the school going children at Kamrio targeting both primary school and high school.

The idea is to expose the students to different careers through different people coming to meet and mentor them; to arouse interests in different careers, help them discover their passions and provide proper guidance to careers of interest by building healthy relationships between mentors and mentees.

Mentor Victor Werimo having a Lively Chat with his mentees

Building healthy relationships between mentors and mentees enable mentees to be freely open to give information about their progresses, the challenges they go through, and their families which help the mentors to develop mentees profiles to keep track of their progress, build stories of their progress and to assist to mitigate any arising challenges negatively affecting the mentees on their paths.

The program also actively involves the mentors and mentees in community development activities and development of the right characters and attitudes.

For instance, in teaching individual responsibility, the mentees were involved in the installation of a pilot drip irrigation system for their mothers as an example of how they could use knowledge and skills gained in education to improve and better shape their society.

Mentors and Mentees installing the first drip irrigation system at Kamrio for the Kamrio Mothers

The activity was also to instill the idea that each has an individual responsibility to solve problems in their community using their arts, talents, skills and profession and hence an emphasis on why they ought to be and stay in school.

The pilot drip irrigation project installed in November 2016 has since seen the community realize readily available food at the village with the trading mothers not having to travel all the way to Kolowa to buy vegetables.

Kales at Kamrio Mothers’ Farm

This food availability also enabled the community survive the prolonged drought of 2017 between January and May, attests one elder and father to some mentees, Mr. Long’iroi.

The students also gave a positive feedback on the project, requesting that the irrigation be expanded to avail more food.

The pilot program also serves as an income generation for the mothers and this helps meet some basic domestic costs for food, clothing, and school needs for their children.

Kamrio Mothers, selling their farm produce

The success of the pilot irrigation project inspired another group of mothers at Kamrio to join hands, pool funds and they purchased an additional drip irrigation system which we helped install in December 2017.

The impact of the mentorship on the students is encouraging.

In the year 2017, the average performance of the students at Kamrio primary in KCPE improved notably will all candidates scoring 230 marks and above with the best scoring 305 marks.

One of the girls, Millicent Chelatan, a mentee who had always been known a weak student, was the best girl and fourth best student.

Millicent Chelatan (far right) with fellow mentees and Mentor Obsurvative

The feedback collected from each mentee during the mentorship in December 2017 also revealed the impact the mentorship had.

All mentees affirmed that program has assisted them to develop a better understanding of themselves and to define their path and direction.

A majority have grown more confident of what they want to be in life which reflects consistently in the reports on individual mentees made by each mentor on the students they mentor.

The number of mentees attending is also continuously increasing some coming from distant villages like Chesawach, Tiaty, Kapau, Kabunyany, Maron, Nyakwala and Alim who are either housed by their relatives or friends at Kamrio during the mentorship.

By Obsurvative Kimutai – (Agricultural Engineer & Poet – Founder of Kamrio Mentorship Program)