What’s New With the IIE HER Program: Summer Leadership and Skills Building

This summer has been a busy but exciting one for the girls in IIE’s Higher Education Readiness (HER) program. After IIE “trained the trainers,” which I detailed in my previous blog, this summer we have focused on working with the girls on leadership and life skills development and English language training.

All the HER girls attended daily morning sessions for six weeks. The summer leadership and life skills program focused on Study Skills, Art of Speaking, Values Clarification and Gender. The English language training focused on grammar, comprehension, speaking and listening.

Based on initial input, the HER girls found the summer training to be an excellent skill building opportunity, and they are feeling more confident about entering the 11th grade. Summer is the rainy season in Ethiopia, and even during bad weather conditions the girls arrived every day, on time and enthusiastic to learn. Some of the girls commented that “the summer program was great and life changing.” Others said “they were shy before the training and couldn’t talk in such of a big gathering and after they completed the training something has changed.” “Now” they said, “they feel that they can talk in-front of many people without any fear and they believe that they can express anything that they feel”.

Ethiopia’s National Exam scores were recently released and IIE is hoping that a majority of the HER girls will score well in order to continue on to the 11th grade in the university track.  We will be reporting back on the National Exam scores in the next blog.

Thanks for following the HER program and let us know if you have any comments or questions.