NAVIGATING ACADEMIC AND SOCIAL PRESSURES
A report on psychological support, mental health, gender, sexual reproductive health and training program for
equity group foundation wings to fly scholars.
Equity Group Foundation aims at championing the transformation of lives and livelihoods through the
development and implementation of innovative programs that leverage existing infrastructure and link
partners to the bottom of the pyramid.Red Cross Society and Training institute in partnership with Equity
Foundation is to offer Psychological Support, Mental Health, Gender, Sexual Reproductive Health and Training
Programs for Wings to Fly Scholars. In Nakuru, a total of 4114 scholars were in attendance.
GROUP PSYCHOLOGICAL SUPPORT SESSION
Our counsellor introduced the topic by defining the dual pressures after which she asked a question to
enhance scholars understanding of the topic of the day ‘PRESSURES’.
- Academic Pressure: The stress related to achieving academic excellence, meeting deadlines, and
securing a future career.
- Social Pressure: The expectations placed by peers, family, and society, particularly related to
fitting in, body image, and social media presence.
The following questions were asked to the scholars:
- How to balance extra curriculum activities and study time?
- About recurring suicidal thoughts
- When pressure is coming from parents
- How to deal with procrastination
- What to do when they feel hated by their teachers
- What to do when they don’t perform well despite studying hard
All the questions were answered as they got encouraged to go for indiviual sessions.
Summary
Scholars were taken through the different types of pressures, signs of a person suffering from bottled up
pressures, effects of the dual pressures and the coping strategies. Balancing between studies, leadership
and other activities stood out as one of the pressure that affects scholars from different schools.
