Sierra Leone: A Mentor
With Many Roles: Suzie Jajua
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Suzie Jajua in a group mentoring session with AGSP scholarship recipients.
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Troubled by the low literacy rates and
early sexuality of girls in Segwembe,
Sierra Leone, Suzie Jajua was determined
to make a difference. A respected teacher
with many years of experience, Suzie
was the first community member to volunteer
her services as a mentor through the
USAID-funded Ambassadors' Girls Scholarship
Program (AGSP). She
hoped that she could encourage the girls
to take a genuine interest in their education.
She has done all of that, and more.
Suzie brings AGSP scholarship
recipients together for group mentoring
sessions, regardless of their ethnic
or religious backgrounds. Under her leadership,
the girls discuss important issues related
to relationships, communication and goals,
as well as health topics such as HIV,
AIDS and STDs. Most crucially, these
meetings have created a strong community
of support for these girls. The AGSP scholars
testify that bonds between them encourage
them to look out for one another and
excel in school. The community Suzie
helped to create through the AGSP mentoring
program is central to keeping the students
motivated and inspired.
Suzie also lives in the same neighborhood
as many of the girls she mentors, enabling
her to routinely visit them in their
homes. She strongly believes that it
is important to make sure the home lives
of the students support their educational
goals. Because many of the girls live
with guardians rather than birth parents,
Suzie teaches her mentees communication
skills that reduce the potential stress
in these relationships. Suzie also acts
as a mediator, helping the girls' families
to understand the importance of decreasing
the girls' workload so that they have
more time to focus on their studies.
In addition to all of the above, Suzie
educates her mentees on aspects of women's
health they might not learn otherwise.
This information, often regarded as taboo,
is essential to helping the girls make
healthy choices. There is an army barracks
not far from the center of town and the
men there are a looming threat to the
girls in terms of HIV and AIDS as well
as a host of other issues. Suzie's knowledge
and guidance helps the girls to advocate
and stand up for themselves.
One of Suzie's girls says that with Suzie's
advice, she has been able to take proper
care of all the items provided to her
through AGSP, such as her text books,
uniforms, notebooks, mathematical sets,
paste and brush, mosquito nets, bags
for school, shoes, rulers, towel and
soap. This student listens keenly to
talks on HIV and AIDS and feels comfortable
sharing with others her knowledge about
the disease and how to prevent it. Furthermore,
she appreciates the value of education
and has become one of the leading scholars
in her school.
Suzie's participation with AGSP has
made the program more effective throughout
the community. As testament to Suzie's
success, the Federation of African Women
Educationalists of Sierra Leone cites
a decrease in the rate of child pregnancy,
early marriages, and fistula problems
since Suzie began her mentoring work.
The community concurs that Suzie's mentees
have become more confident and self-aware
since the inception of the mentoring
program. The confidence and commitment
to education that Suzie's girls exude
have made them role models for AGSP scholars
and non-AGSP scholars alike. Thanks to
mentors like Suzie Jajua, World Education
continues to educate many underprivileged
children through AGSP, setting in motion
a vehicle for positive social change.
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