The second week of facilitator training at Jijenge Youth Organization welcomed participants from various organizations interested in volunteer facilitation. This collaborative approach enriched discus…
Life Skills
Life Skill Session on Self Talk @Korando Educational Center
On Friday, we held a class at Korando Educational Learning Center on the topic of Self-Talk. The session focused on the two types of self-talk: positive and negative. Students learned how their intern…
Review and Planning session.
On Friday, we kicked off our first session of the year at St. Williams Learning Centre, where we engaged the students in a comprehensive review of last year’s programs. The goal was to evaluate the im…
Unfolding Creativity: Origami Life Skills Workshop @ Rehabilitation Centre Kisumu
We began by explaining what crafting is and demonstrated the origami boxes and boats we planned to make with the kids. In three groups, each volunteer guided the children step by step on how to create…
Life Skills Session @ “KAA Sober” Event
The event was organized by Blue Cross and other stakeholders to empower children and youth through various activities, aiming to ensure they have a healthy and safe environment free from alcohol and o…
Youth Mentorship Session @ Lutheran Church
The Lutheran Church in Kisumu runs a holiday mentorship program for students within their congregation, occasionally inviting guest speakers to address various aspects of life. In collaboration with E…
Life Skills & Pancakes @ The Kisumu Rehab
Initially, we explained to the kids which ingredients they needed to make pancakes. By preparing a small batch of dough ourselves, the kids could see the process and were able to make their own dough …
“Levels of Heart” Life Skills @ Remand Home
The main goal of this life skills class was to explore the “Levels of the Heart,” a concept inspired by Ock Soo Park’s writings. This was designed to help students understand how human emotions and de…
Kicking Stress Out at Work – Inaugural Football Tournament
On November 8, 2024, Better Me took part in the first-ever “Kicking Stress Out at Work” event, hosted at the Kisumu National Polytechnic grounds. This initiative targeted organizations and government …
Charity Drive/Mentorship Session @ Nyatege Primary School
On October 23, 2024, we teamed up with the Brighter Future initiative for their charity drive and mentorship session at Nyatege Primary School. The event aimed to offer emotional support and essential…
Personal Hygiene Session @ St. Williams
Personal Hygiene (Hand Washing)
* The importance of maintaining personal hygiene….
Wellness Session @ Makini School Kisumu
The school extended a special invitation to us through our partnering organization, Jijenge Youth Organization, to hold a session with the Grade 6, 7, and 8 students. We arrived a few minutes before t…
Life Skills Session on “Mindset” @ Remand Home
The main purpose of this meeting was to help the kids with their mindset. Often, people find it difficult to think clearly because they are holding onto things that cannot be changed. This session aim…
Mental Health Empowerment @ Umoja Foundation Boys Camp
The Umoja Foundation Boys Camp aimed to provide a safe and supportive environment for adolescent boys from various high schools in Kisumu County to engage in personal development and mental health awa…
Life Skills on “The Importance of Education and Your Value” @ St Charles Mwilitsa Primary
The activity was held in order to teach the kids about their value and the importance of education. It was amazing to see the young ones talking about their wonderful dreams in life and what they want…
Life Skills “Being The Best Version of Yourself” @ Remand Home
We discussed “Being the Best Version of Yourself,” aiming to help the boys understand the concept of self and the importance of staying true to their values, interests, and passions. We emphasized the…
Talent Show Cultural Day @ Kudho Secondary School
The activity was talent-based. This was to help the students in their talent search. There was a variety of talents such as dancing, rapping, singing, news broadcasts, traditional dances, and eating c…
Being The Best Version Of Yourself @ Kisumu Rehabilitation Centre
In our first session with four girls from the Kisumu Rehabilitation Centre, we delved into the topic “Being the Best Version of Yourself.” This discussion was designed to help the girls understand the…
Life Skills “Politics” @ Remand Home
In this lesson, Jake introduced the topic of “politics” to the boys, covering things such as what politics is, why it is important, how to think about politics, and political participation. Ruth provi…
Life Skills on Drugs Awareness, Effects and Substance Abuse @ Korando
Partnering with Jijenge Youth Organization, who are currently implementing a project on drugs and substance abuse, and working as the Focal point of African Union on drugs and prevention in partnershi…
Wheel of Life @ Friday’s for Wellness
For the last three Fridays, we’ve been participating in a wellness program called Friday For Wellness with other community practitioners. It’s a supportive platform where we can learn, network, build …
Life Skill Session on “Sportsmanship” @ St. Williams Primary
The activity was meant to help the kids improve their sports skills and teach them about the importance of sports. During this lesson, they also learned some skills such as resilience, persistence, an…
Life Skills Session on “Sportsmanship” @ Remand Home
Explained the benefits of playing sports in life, the importance of sportsmanship, popular sports, and the variety of sports. After the lesson, the kids were taken outside to play a variety of differe…
Friday Wellness Session with Our Partners
The purpose of this activity was to help individuals find themselves, as the topic of stress and depression was the main focus of the day. People go through a lot of things and face different problems…
Swimming Class with Grade 3 @ Korando
We decided to go with grade 3 today. We divided the group into two again and continued practicing swimming on their backs correctly. After this, we started to learn how to swim on their stomachs facin…
Circle Training with the Big Boys @ Remand Home
After a brief explanation of what we had planned to do in class, we went outside and started with a quick warm-up by doing some stretches. That activity was followed by a circuit training consisting o…
Life Skills Lesson on “Truth” @ Remand Home
Discussed the concept of “truth” with the children in class, then we did an outdoor activity for fun and to symbolize the importance of telling the truth….
Life Skills Lesson on “Fear” @ St. Williams
This activity was meant to help the children overcome their fear that prevents them from doing things perfectly. It’s good to help them understand that fear is not a bad thing, but to see it as a good…
Life Skills on “Emotional Health” with Grade 5 & 6 @ St. Williams
The topic of the lesson was emotional health, with a focus on what to do depending on how you’re feeling. The kids were able to learn about such a serious topic through games like hangman and charades…
Stretching Class with the Older Boys @ Remand Home
The class started with a theoretical part on the importance of stretching before doing sports, led by Tess and Catharina. It was followed by a practical part consisting of a full-body stretching and s…
Life Skills Lesson on “Fear” @ Remand Home
The main purpose of the meeting was to teach the children how to overcome their fears and how they can always work their way around it. Fear is a barrier to many things in the lives of these children….
Watercolor Painting with the Kids @ Korando
The kids were provided with paper, watercolor paint, brushes, and water! They expressed their creativity by painting whatever they wanted….
Grade 3 Swim Lesson @ Korando
During the swim lesson, the third graders focused on strengthening the basics of swimming as they practiced streamline, kickbacks, and floating….
Empowering Youth: SRHR Session @ Mbaga Orphaned Children Center
On the 29th of June, we were invited to conduct a sexual reproductive health rights session at Mbaga Orphaned Children Center (MOCC). The session aimed to initiate a conversation around fundamental hu…
Team Building: Korando Teachers and Better Me Team
We recently organized a team-building session for both our own staff and the staff of the Dolfine Korando Faith Foundation, our main partner, which includes teachers and support staff. The purpose of …
Life Skills on “Self Awareness” @ St. Williams Primary
This is to help kids understand and learn more about themselves. This will help them handle the everyday challenges they face in life. Sometimes, kids argue with each other simply because they may not…
Swimming Class with Grade 4 @ Korando
We started the swimming class with a 5-minute playtime to give the kids a chance to get comfortable in the water. They had a blast making big splashes and blowing bubbles underwater. After a few minut…
Swimming Class Grade 5 @ Korando
During the swim lessons, we worked on water confidence by improving basic swimming fundamentals. The kids practiced the beginning streamline position, starts, kicking technique, and kickbacks….
Swimming Class with Grade 6 @ Korando
The main goal of the class was to practice and improve their swimming skills. We achieved this by doing different exercises, and we also had the swimming noodles as a support for the kids. At the end …
Life Skills “Wounds of the Heart” @ Remand Home
This was meant to teach the children how to handle the problems they face in their day-to-day life. It’s always important to address the challenges we encounter because they can affect us emotionally….
Swimming Lesson with Grade 7 @ Korando
We began the lesson with 5 minutes of playtime for the kids to boost their confidence in the water before starting any exercises. This also gave the kids a chance to have fun in the water together bef…
Life Skills Session “Decision Making” @ St. Williams Primary
The purpose of the activity was to help the students make the right decisions in order to set themselves up for success. Making wrong decisions can lead to a lot of challenges and consequences that th…
Swimming Lession with Grade 5 @ Korando
Swimming lessons for the children….
Swimming Lesson Grade 2 & 1 @ Korando
It was the first time for a lot of the kids in the pool, so our main goal was to encourage the kids in the water at first and build up their water confidence. We spiced up the lesson by giving the kid…
Eco-Therapy Hike and Nature Walk with Jijenge @ Korando
We have been conducting group dialogue in our Thursday sessions on mental health and wellbeing. Over the last few weeks, we have organized physical activities, such as playing football together. Last …
Swimming Class with PP1 & PP2 @ Korando
We split into three groups, allowing the volunteers to focus on their own group. We started the swimming session by giving the children time to adjust to the water. We did this by splashing around and…
Life Skills on “Principles, Power and Triumph” @ Remand Home
This was just to give the children an understanding of principles, power, and triumph. It is important for someone to have their principles in life in order to create some standards for oneself. When …
Swimming Lesson with Grade 3 @ Korando
We had a swimming class with the third grade, so we all headed to the nearby swimming pool together. It was the class’s first swimming lesson, so we split the group into beginners and advanced swimmer…
Swimming Lesson with Grade 4 “Water Confidence” @ Korando
We met with the whole class at the Korando educational center and then we walked to the swimming pool. Everyone changed into appropriate swimwear, and then we divided the class into two groups. Lucy s…
Swimming Lesson with Grade 5 “Water Confidence” @ Korando
First, we walked the 10-minute stroll to the nearby swimming pool. Upon arrival, everyone changed into their appropriate swimming attire and took a quick shower. Once ready, we divided the kids into t…
Swimming Lesson with Grade 6 @ Korando
First, we tried to build up their water confidence by starting with the sea star exercise. They had to lay on their back and spread out like a sea star. This exercise is meant to teach them that the w…
“Be a Champion” Life Skills Session @ Remand Home
Yesterday, we had an enriching life skills talk with the boys at the remand center, centered around the concept of “Championship.” Together, we explored what it means to be a champion, discussing the …
Swimming Lesson with Grade 7 @ Korando
We started the swimming lessons with grade 7 by trying to build the water confidence. An important part of water confidence is to learn that the water will carry you and that you need to stay calm. On…
Swimming Lesson with Grade 8 @ Korando
We met with the entire class at the Korando Educational Center and then walked to the swimming pool. Everyone changed into appropriate swimwear, and we divided the class into two groups. Lucy supervis…
Life Skill Session @ Paul Wanjigi Alpine
After being welcomed by the school administration, we had our first session as a panel discussion. This was led by Laura and Jule. They explained the difference in education systems between Kenya and …
Life Skills Session “Self-Care Routine” @ St. Williams
The topic of discussion was self-care routines among young people, with a particular focus on both physical and mental self-care. The session aimed to address the common tendency to prioritize physica…
Theory Swimming Class with Grade 7 & 8 @ Korando
This theoretical lesson about swimming was a preparation for the practice lessons, which are starting next week on Monday. During this lesson, we gave the students a little overview of what is going t…
Self-Care Routine @ Remand Home
The dedicated topic of discussion was self-care routines among young people, with a particular focus on both physical and mental self-care. The session aimed to address the common tendency to prioriti…
Life Skill Session on Discipline @ Kudho Secondary
The school requested that we do a topic on discipline, so we developed questions to handle the session. First, we aimed to understand what discipline means, the difference between discipline and punis…
World Menstrual Hygiene Day 2024
The primary purpose of this activity was to commemorate World Menstrual Hygiene Day by raising awareness about menstrual hygiene management and providing support to young girls in the Nyangande commun…
Menstrual Hygiene Lesson @ Korando
The menstrual hygiene class aimed to spread knowledge and awareness about the menstrual cycle, menstrual products, and body empowerment (pain, cramps, etc.). We started by showing the female reproduct…
Sunrise Hike to the Korando Hills
Today, our team, along with our dedicated volunteers and friends from Penn State University and Homeless of Kisumu, embarked on a refreshing sunrise hike to Korando Hills. The primary goal of this act…
YUMP Session (B) @ Ken Obura Secondary School
We conducted an introductory YUMP (Youth Unleashed Mentorship Program) session at Ken Obura Secondary School. The primary focus of this session was to introduce the program and discuss the first topic…
YUMP Session (A) @ Ken Obura Secondary School
To introduce YUMP to Ken Obura Secondary School and support the school’s guidance and counseling department….
Psychological Support Activities for Displaced Children in Kisumu, Kenya
The primary purpose of the psychological support activities was to address the mental and emotional well-being of children who had been displaced by the floods. By providing group counseling sessions …
Life Skills: First Aid Lesson “Choking” and Outdoor Sports @ Remand Home
We divided the students into two groups so that each student could attend both the first aid lesson and outdoor activities. The first aid lesson focused on choking. We began by explaining the situatio…
Life Skills & First Aid Training @ Mama Ngina Children’s Home w. Kenya Red Cross
The visit to Mama Ngina Children’s Home in Kisumu County was aimed at providing support and engagement to the children and staff through team-building and motivational learning activities. Additionall…
Team Wellness Session: Family Shields
Family shields serve as a powerful tool for team building by providing a visual representation of shared values, heritage, and aspirations within a family or group. These symbols not only instill a se…
Life Skill Lesson @ Remand Home
We had a life skills lesson with all the kids combined. The topic of discussion was mindset. Before we introduced it, we reviewed what we had learned the previous Wednesday, as it had some correlation…
Mind Education @ Remand Home
We had a life skills lesson with the older kids, organized them for the class, and then started the session. We gave a brief introduction to what Better Me as an organization does and the kind of ment…
Life Skills Lesson on “How to be a good friend” @ Remand Home
Today, the life skills lesson focused on “how to be a good friend.” The lesson began by reviewing what was covered last week, as last week’s activities laid the groundwork for today’s class. A discuss…
Chapati Festival @ Ebenezer Children’s Home
Upon arrival, all the kids, staff of the Children’s home, and volunteers gathered in the hall for introductions and a time for spiritual nourishment. We later developed groups called “knowledge academ…
Sport for Wellness Easter Edition @ Remand Home
The engagement was a platform for showing how children within statutory institutions can be responsible in terms of behavior and how they can deal with social issues they are facing in the community. …
Life Skills Lesson on Peer Pressure @ Remand Home
We started the lesson by introducing the topic of peer pressure to them. We discussed different types of peers and both positive and negative peer pressure. At the end, we engaged in a discussion abou…
Life Skills Lesson on “Peer Pressure” @ St. Williams Primary
The purpose of the session was to educate the children about peer pressure, both positive and negative, and how to deal with negative peer pressure. The lesson began with a round of Simon Says to enga…
Life Skills Lesson on Feelings @ Remand Home
At the beginning, we played a game by rolling the dice and answering one of six questions we had written on the board. Following this, we engaged in a discussion about feelings and how to handle them …
Life Skills Lesson on Stress @ St. Williams Primary School
The lesson started with a warm-up game consisting of stretching. It continued with a life skills lesson on stress where the participants were taught the definition of stress and how to manage it. At t…
Team Building Fun Session @ Jijenge Youth
We completed part one of a two part activity on Thursday. We facilitated a very fun team competition to illustrate team work and how people can work to achieve the same goals in different ways. The da…
Effective Communication Skills Lesson @ The Remand Home
Today, we had a YUMP session at the Remand home. Spencer and Zoey facilitated a lesson on effective communication, specifically in heightened emotional states. They facilitated this lesson with the ol…
Kids Camp @ Korando Educational Centre
We planned and hosted a camp for kids from PP1 to Grade 4. It consisted of three hours of both Kenyan and American children’s games, including duck duck goose, red light green light, and ninja. We con…
Academic Success and O.K.Rs @ Kuoyo Secondary
There were two focuses of this session. There was a YUMP talk given about Academic success and O.K.R.s in HighSchool. There was also a survey conducted with 20 girls about menstrual hygiene. …
Decision Making in 6 Steps @ Korando
We taught our decision making in 6 steps as a YUMP session at Korando. We discussed how to differentiate between a good and bad decision and how to approach big decisions in life. …
Life Skills on “Decision Making” @ St. Williams
We had a very fruitful YUMP lesson about how to make good decisions….
Time Management @ St. Williams
This talk was held to help kids to be able to plan through and run their errands effectively while considering the time factor in all their daily activities. Train them on how to properly carry out …
Mindful Firefighters: Nurturing Mental Wellness
The objective was to promote wellness and resilience among firefighters through a mindfulness and stress reduction activity…
Life skills “Taking Responsibility” @ Remand Home
During this talk,we delved into the vital concept of responsibility and its significance in shaping teenagers as valuable members of society. We explored the essence of being accountable individuals, …
Life Skills “Decision Making” @ Kudho Secondary
With the help of a team from Jijenge, we taught a YUMP lesson on decision making in 6 steps. …
Life-skills Session on Decision Making @ Kudho Secondary School
The Intention was to deliver a lifeskills session on Decision Making. …
Life Skills “Public Speaking” @ Korando Educational Center
The purpose of this activity was to train the students to talk in front of an audience as part of the “Life Skills” project. This can be relevant for oral examinations, future assignments at a univers…
Life Skills “Public Speaking” @ St. Williams Primary School
The purpose of this activity was to train the students to talk in front of an audience as part of the “Life Skills” project. This can be relevant for oral examinations, future assignments at a univers…
Good Study Habits @ Kudho Secondary School
We purposed to enlighten the form 1 and 2 students at Kudho secondary school on good study habits to help improve their academic perfomance….
Introductory Session: Kudho Secondary School
Since it was the first session with the group, the idea was to introduce the Youth Unleashed Mentorship Program to the group of Form 1 and Form 2 Boys.
We also wanted to find out what topics the stude…
Study Habits Workshop @ Kudho Secondary
The purpose of this meeting was to help the students at Kudho High school navigate good study habits for their academic improvement….
New Year Life Skills Introduction @ Korando
The aim of the meeting was to have an introductory session on life skills, by allowing the kids to bring forth their needs in as far as life skills is concerned….
Open Session @ St. Williams Education Centre
This was the initial session with the students at the St. Williams primary. Specifically for the 7th and 8th grade however Madda and me have picked grade 8. After a short introduction by the volunteer…
Art Therapy Session on Self-Reflection @ Korando
The aim of art therapy session at Korando is to help raise the consciousness of the children by helping them become aware of their essence and true identity. Nature, being the bigger reflection of thi…
Self-Confidence Lesson @ Remand Home
Self-confidence is such a grounding aspect of the self. It is the root that anchors our self worth, self esteem and our ability to express ourselves fearlessly and authentically. In our session, we hi…
Year End Recap @ Remand Home
The purpose of the year-end open review was to evaluate the program’s impact on the boys and girls at the Remand Home, assess their feedback, and identify areas for improvement and growth for the upco…
The Life Tree Concept @ Remand Home
The concept of the life tree aims to shed light on uncomfortable emotions. Similar to the roots of a tree, these emotions provide depth, and we can use the experiences gained from them to improve how …
Open Life Skills Session at the Remand Home
We had an open discussion about the common challenges young people are facing in the community, especially the boys. This was a personal question and everyone had an opportunity to express himself.
…