From Students to Teachers: The Power of English Fluency at SEGA
When the English Fluency Program began at the SEGA Girls’ School last year, two Teaching Assistants stood at the front of the classroom with a perspective few volunteers ever have: they once sat in those same seats.
Dorcas and Stella were once SEGA students themselves, learning English for the first time, finding their voices, and building the confidence to speak in a new language. This time, they returned not as learners, but as leaders, supporting the next cohort of girls just beginning that same journey.
Their presence marked a quiet but powerful full-circle moment, one that captures what the English Fluency Program makes possible.
English as another tool for Girl’s Empowerment
For students entering SEGA Girls’ School, English fluency is more than an academic requirement. It is the foundation that allows girls to access the secondary school curriculum, participate confidently in class, and step into leadership opportunities across campus and beyond.
The English Fluency Program is designed specifically for Pre-Form I students, girls who are transitioning from Kiswahili-based primary education into an English-language learning environment. Through immersive, interactive lessons led by volunteers, including storytelling, music, and conversation, the program helps girls build foundational language skills while developing confidence, self-expression, and a sense of belonging.
For Dorcas and Stella, learning English became a turning point. What once felt intimidating gradually became empowering. As communication improved, so did confidence, opening doors to greater participation in class, leadership roles, and, eventually, the opportunity to return as Teaching Assistants themselves.
English fluency, they learned, isn’t about changing who they are. It’s about gaining one more tool to be heard in spaces that too often overlook girls like them.
Returning to Lead
When Dorcas and Stella returned to SEGA as Teaching Assistants, it wasn’t simply an internship opportunity, it was a conscious decision to give back to the place that had once shaped their voices.
“SEGA played a key role in my growth and my future,” Stella reflects. “Returning as a Teaching Assistant allowed me to support girls the same way I was supported, while also serving as a mentor and role model to my SEGA sisters.”
They returned with a perspective no other SEGA volunteer could offer. Dorcas and Stella knew exactly what it felt like to sit in those classrooms hesitant to speak, afraid of making mistakes, quietly worried about being judged, yet eager to learn. That lived experience shaped how they showed up each day.
“I understand the environment, the culture, and the challenges the girls face because I once faced them myself,” Dorcas explained. “This helped me create a safe, supportive space where mistakes were welcomed and confidence could grow.”
Their presence quickly made an impact. When the students realized Dorcas and Stella were once SEGA students themselves, surprise often gave way to inspiration. SEGA girls leaned in more closely, listened more intently, and began to push themselves further, trusting the learning process because they could see where it might lead.
Leadership Rooted in Experience
What Dorcas and Stella offered in those classrooms went beyond teaching. For the Pre-Form 1 students, their presence quietly answered an unspoken question: Is this really possible for me?
In their growing ease and confidence, students could see what happens when persistence meets support. These were not native English speakers explaining lessons; they were former SEGA students who had once navigated the same uncertainty, now living proof that fluency grows, courage builds, and belonging can be learned through practice and determination.
What made their leadership especially powerful was not only their fluency in English, but their fluency in empathy. They understood the pause before a girl spoke. They recognized the fear of getting it wrong. And they knew how much encouragement matters in those early moments when confidence is still taking shape.
Both Dorcas and Stella reflected on how the experience strengthened their own leadership skills while deepening their belief in education as a shared responsibility. Teaching became a mirror: a reminder of their own resilience and a call to lift others alongside them.
Beyond Fluency
The English Fluency Program is designed to prepare girls for academic success, but moments like this reveal its deeper impact.
When SEGA graduates return as Teaching Assistants, they model continuity, mentorship, and leadership that extends beyond graduation. Younger students see what growth can look like over time and begin to imagine themselves on the same path.
At its heart, the English Fluency Program is about access to education, to confidence, and to opportunity. But it is also about belonging, creating spaces where girls are encouraged to try, to fail, and to try again, supported by volunteers who believe in them and role models who have walked the same path.
Dorcas and Stella’s return reminds us that the most powerful outcomes of education often appear years later, when learners become leaders, and decide to help others find their voices.
This year, we invite you to be part of that journey
If you believe in the power of education, mentorship, and girls’ leadership, we invite you to volunteer with the English Fluency Program. By supporting girls as they find their voices, you’ll play a meaningful role in shaping the next generation of confident SEGA graduates.
Because sometimes, the most meaningful impact begins with simply showing up.