Series 2 Blog #1 - Roses, budding coders and bonding time

Hi everyone,

Our 53rd weekly blog post couldn't have come at a more fitting time. As we put the final touches on preparing our second batch to get a taste of “empowerment”, it's as if the universe aligned to remind us of the journey we've embarked on. 

"The direction you choose to face determines whether you’re standing at the end or the beginning of a road." - Richelle E. Goodrich

In the midst of the hustle and bustle, a close friend reached out to me last week after reading our #52 blog to tell me just how amazed she is about how far we've come. It was then that I realized I hadn't taken a moment to stop and smell the roses and appreciate where we are now. 

We've been so focused on pushing forward, always striving for the next milestone. 

So, as I reflect on where we are now, there are many things that come to mind but two things stand out 

1. It wasn’t easy 
   

1. It won’t be easy 
   

“We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses blooming outside our windows today.” – Dale Carnegie

So, there you have it, my profound takeaway for you today. It's like a motivational speech with a mic drop moment, though I'm not actually walking away! But in all seriousness, our journey has required tremendous effort, the faith of numerous individuals in our cause, and, most importantly, our belief in ourselves, even when the way forward was shrouded in uncertainty. 

This is a theme we've carried with us since our first batch embarked on their journey into the world of work. 

But the question we've pondered is, does learning ever truly end?

So after this moment of reflection, we put our working shoes on and went about our work fueled with renewed purpose and passion. It was a good thing too as we had a lot of activities this week. We organized an ambitious and comprehensive student and parent workshop, marked by an array of administrative tasks, engaging activities and orientation sessions. Then we had our IT hopefuls embark on a journey with Python. Not the animal, the programming language. We had some girl power showcased this week with one of female students who tackled a username and password validation task with some exceptional creativity. I'm blown away by their commitment and progress! 

Apart from that we have spent a lot of time upgrading our curriculum, preparing the new academic calendar and very importantly having dedicated time for further training and bonding.

This has not only energized our team but also serves as a reminder of why we're here - to empower, uplift, and to ensure that learning is a lifelong endeavor.

 

“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” – Henry Ford

        -Anju

As Anju mentioned, in the midst of our ongoing training, we found ourselves engrossed in a plethora of insightful sessions. Anju, who some may say is a beacon of knowledge and experience, recently conducted a session on safeguarding that served as a reminder of the paramount importance of creating a secure and nurturing environment for our students. Anju's session encompassed not only the physical safety of students but also their emotional well-being. Her session prompted reflections on our individual roles in the collective mission of protecting and nurturing young minds.

Equally enlightening was Dee's session, which navigated us through the intricacies that we should bear in mind for the upcoming term. She meticulously outlined the finer points that often go unnoticed but contribute significantly to the smooth functioning of our educational endeavors.

As we tread further into our training, armed with the wisdom imparted by Anju and Dee (as well as some outbound training fun!), we want to refine our practices to empower ourselves for the challenges ahead and welcome our new batch of Empower program students with open arms!

        -Sinalie