At Neema’s recent mentorship roundtable, Neema alumni stood up in front of our current students — those just a couple of years younger than them — and teachers to encourage those in our program today. They shared with these current students that they should be resilient and learn to persevere through situations.

Our Business Skills Development Mentor, Loitanit, says that a few weeks prior, at a community event, she “got to meet and interact with some alumni that [she] had not met [yet].” After chatting for a while, she invited them to participate in and share at the roundtable event mentioned above.

Alumni Iddah, Ann, Terry, Mercy, Susan, Joan, and Maureen came and shared with our students about their experiences while at Neema and afterward—the lessons they learned, what is working for them, and what is not working. Our staff kicked the day off with introductions and games. Then the counseling department had a group session with everyone, talking about peer pressure and how to handle it. Loitanit says, “It was very interactive, though the alumni had more questions than the students.”

Loitanit spoke to everyone about the characteristics of being a mentor—what it means to guide those who are younger or less experienced, and the value of leading others as well as being led. 

“Next,” she says, “Mercy, Terry, and Iddah shared their stories. They each shared of their experiences while they were at Neema and [said that] if they could [have changed] anything about that time [it would be] the fact that they were not so obedient. [They said that] they have learned that in the outside world, it does not work like that, and you need to learn to listen and follow instructions.”

Those alumni who are married shared how they balance life, children, and work. They also explained some experiences they’ve had dealing with different types of clients and how they handle them. 

Our students were so encouraged to hear from those who accomplished this program before them and to gain advice for how to re-engage with the outside world. It was such a treat for them to have this session, learning from and getting to know our alumni!

We intend to organize more of these events because we know that when our alumni have a network of peers to rely on outside of Neema, they are more likely to succeed.