Highlights from My SEGA Visit

I recently returned from my annual trip to SEGA and wanted to share a few highlights. There is always so much going on there; this visit was no exception.

Student Selection:

I had the opportunity to participate in the Student Selection Process for the first time. Laina Mwandoloma (SEGA’s Director), a visiting NM board member, Susan Schneider, and I joined two of SEGA’s teachers on the selection in Dodoma, Tanzania’s political capital.  The students we were visiting had already taken an exam and been interviewed by the team. We began by staying with the head of a local primary school where two applicants were studying. They discussed the school's challenges with getting teachers to come consistently to teach the students. They also shared how hard it can be for students who live far away to attend due to a lack of transportation. We went on to do home visits, going directly to the girls’ homes and speaking with family or extended family members. We also spoke to neighbors and the local leader in the community. The process allowed the team to fully understand each girl’s circumstances and often see right away examples of their drive to learn despite the many barriers to getting an education. One girl had created a mini chalkboard and taught her young brother the alphabet.

This process was repeated in many communities in Morogoro, Dodoma, and Iringa, where 40 students have now been selected and will come to SEGA on September 23rd to begin what we call “Pre-Form,” which is the three months before entering the SEGA Girls’ School as secondary students. They participate in our English Fluency Program, receive remedial support and counseling, and generally prepare to enter high school. Partner organizations select the remaining 20 students SEGA works with, including a few paying students.

New Partner Visit:

SEGA has recently partnered with Dodoma Christian Medical Center (DCMC) to accept SEGA graduates for 6-month internships. We had the opportunity to visit this incredible, well-resourced hospital where SEGA graduate, Watende, who recently completed nursing school, is currently interning as a nurse. The hospital is interested in having additional interns as soon as possible. DCMC also sent several physical therapists to SEGA earlier in the year to support the three girls with Spina Bifida at SEGA by giving them healthcare guidance and exercises to increase their strength, mobility, and comfort.

STEM Program:

SEGA hosted its second annual STEM Adventures at SEGA program while I was there. A group of 12 volunteers from the U.S., including my college-aged daughter, several other mother-daughter teams, and both science and non-science professionals volunteered their time teaching our Form 1 students various STEM subjects, including microscopes, weather and climate change, astronomy, acids, and bases, solar power, and the solar system! Eight SEGA graduates participated in the program, and several exciting speakers shared their journeys, including three female pilots!  We will share two additional blogs on the many exciting things during this program in the coming weeks.

Career Inspiration Day:

Several NM board members and SEGA staff organized a Career Inspiration Day jointly. There were ten female professionals from Dar es Salaam including lawyers, bankers, HR professionals, an expert in agriculture and a professor, two representatives from a safari camp in the Selous, and the head of SEGA’s new partner Mikumi VETA.  Mikumi VETA’s team of 9 teachers highlighted their many skills-based training programs, including electrical, construction, secretarial, and tourism. After sharing inspiring messages, each representative had a table where SEGA students could ask questions and learn more about how to follow a path that would lead to a similar career. It was a full-day event with student presentations, a tour, and lunch. It was hugely successful, with all visitors/professional mentors pledging to support SEGA and its graduates.

SEGA is the Solution: 

Now in our 15th year of operation, SEGA’s reach and impact are more significant than ever. Two hundred eighty-seven girls are now being educated at the SEGA Girls’ School this year; we are also reaching 2,000 girls in 28 communities with life skills and financial literacy through our Modern Girl Community Outreach Program and the Continuing Education Scholarship and Career Development Program is now providing over 200 girls with scholarships beyond high school from vocational programs, to diplomas and university degrees, which includes career guidance and opportunities for internships to build the experience needed for job placement. 

Speaking with many graduates during the two weeks I was there, it is clear SEGA is the Solution! 

Your commitment gives each Tanzanian girl we serve the ability to lift herself out of poverty and become Tanzania’s leaders of tomorrow. Asante! (Thank you!)

Laura DeDominicis
Executive Director, Nurturing Minds