Mentoring students at the Gunjur Youth Camp

TYW through its members continues to contribute to youth development at different levels. On Saturday  9^th August 2014, Yassin Nyan a founding member of Think Young Women was invited to a youth camp at Gunjur.

The session was part of activities of a 10 day youth leadership and Gold Award programme (of the President’s International Award) in which the participants took part in a range of activities including community service visits, a 40km walking expedition and socialisation activities among others. The camp was organised by the SOS Hermann Gmeiner Technical Senior Secondary School Unit of the President’s Award Scheme.

Yassin was an award winning student of the SOS Hermann Gmeiner Upper Basic School from 2004 to 2007 who was actively involved in extracurricular activities and held various positions of responsibility and leadership whilst in the school. She was selected as Head girl in her final year in the school and she left the school in 2004 when she sat to the Gambia Basic Education Certificate Examination (GABECE) and made A1s in all the nine subjects that she sat creating a record in the school yet to be beaten. She is now a student of the University of The Gambia School of Medicine about to start the 5^th year of her 7 year programme of study for a BSc. In Medicine and Surgery.

Yassin’s session with the students started out with introductions and each student telling her what their career plan was and why they would like to pursue that course of study. This formed the basis of the discussion during which she shared her educational experiences and also teased out the students’ strengths and weaknesses in their different courses of learning and shared her opinion as to how that contributes in determining career choice and success.

A cross-section of adults and adolescents listening keenly to Yassin.

Two power issues came up and these were self-esteem and confidence building and the need for hard work as there is no shortcut to success. And the importance of vocational training in national development and in job opportunities and that it is in no way inferior to white collar jobs despite what some people may think. A student in Grade 11 Commerce, stated that she still hadn’t decided what she wants to do. To that she responded that life is a voyage of discovery and that she had the same problem too in deciding what she wanted. This came to highlight the importance of mentorship guidance and career counselling which helped her decide to go Medical school, a decision she has never regretted. She encouraged the students identify role models and try to get close to adults who can guide them on career paths, to engage their parents in inter-generational dialogue regarding career choices as a lot of the time parents try to force their children into certain fields when that is not what they want or that is not where their talents/interests lie.

This was followed by question and answer session. The students wanted know who her role model is, how she copes with medical school with work and her youth activities, what advise she had for students who want to go to medical school, what she wanted to specialise in as a doctor and some miscellaneous questions relating to health and medicine and adolescent reproductive health.

Students listening keenly at the open session

Yassin is still considered a role model in all the schools she’s been to and students look up to her and try to attain and break her academic achievements. Some students in her high school actually have! So the standards keep getting higher with a good example to follow.

Inculcating self awareness and awareness of children and 
women’s issues from an early age.