Valentine Simei, founder First Track Mentors
Nandi News
Valentine Simei's love for Nandi can not be disputed. The 31 year old family woman who hails from Itigo in Nandi and schooled at Chepterit Girls, founded First Track Mentors five years ago. Headquartered in Nandi county, the organisation has 4 full time employees, 31 volunteers and a total of 316 mentees spread across the county.
Asked why she decided to venture into mentoring, the Information Technology graduate from Moi university cited her love for the community and her personal ordeals when she lost her father at a tender age and she had to grow without a father figure. Life was hard for her, and she doesn't want the same for her mentees.
The organisation focuses on single mothers, widows, prisoners, young and middle aged kids (10-21years) who need to be moulded and shown direction with regards to their lives.
Some of the girls under the First Track mentorship program
Some of the programs by First Track
Boys to Men program. This program is meant to encourage young boys by providing them with father figures whom they can look upon as role models. It aims at transforming the young boys into responsible young men. It is mainly run in August during the school break season.
Girls today, Women tomorrow. This program aims at ensuring that young girls have role models to look up to. It runs during April holidays.
In School Mentorship. This program sees the organization visit schools and engage directly with the students. They get to talk and share their experiences. The girls are provided with sanitary towels to ensure that they stay in school and focus on their education.
Hands on Mentorship. This program is tailored for young adults. It aims at giving them an opportunity to connect the dots between what they learn in school and what they'll need to be successful in their careers.
The organisation has partnered with Elite Institute of Information Communication Technology , which has enabled it run the mobile digital literacy program aimed at impacting the mentees with Information technology techniques, a specialty of
Valentine Simei.
Women Empowerment
The inua mama program, enables the women she mentors engage in socio economic activities which help generate revenues. Some of the activities undertaken include; baking, agribusiness among other entrepreneurial activities. The women are also taught on personal hygiene, health issues and grooming.
Valentine Simei further told Nandi News of a new program in the offing known as Go Girl, which targets young teenage mothers. She is in the process of setting up a rescue center in Mosoriot sub county in Nandi. This she explained, will help in taking in teen mothers and give them a second chance in life.
In the same center in Mosoriot she will set up a daycare for the kids to enable the young mothers focus on education or their economic activities to be able to fend for their kids.
Valentine Simei also made an appeal to well wishers including the county government, private sector and charitable organizations to step in and join hands in her organisation's noble cause. She wishes to see the vulnerable groups in Nandi taken good care of. She is appealing to everyone for support.
Asked whether she harbors any political ambitions, she blatantly down played it saying that at the moment she is focused on seeing First Track grow and meet its vision which is to see all children, youth and women achieve their success in life.
She further stated that, in the future, First Track Mentors will continue playing an important role in the socio economic development of Kenya by addressing issues such as drug and substance abuse, alcoholism, teenage pregnancies, H.I.V and AIDS, poverty, unemployment and school dropouts.
She is also an author and has two books under her sleeves soon to be released "Creating Your Happiness ", and "The Art of Mentoring".
If you have any queries, you want to volunteer or you want to partner with First Track Mentors you can reach the C.E.O through her mobile number +254720130960 or via her email address valchepsi@gmail.com
Singles and widows group Lelmokwo Ngechek Ward economic empowerment courtesy of First track mentors
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