How Joanna Harper is Making a Difference in Education

Joanna Harper of Integrate Training had been nominated for the NLP in Education Award for her work with the Unity Nursery and Primary School in Mombasa, Kenya and as a sponsor for the charity ‘Friends of Mombasa Children’ whose statement of purpose is “Being born in a slum does not mean you cannot learn or successfully pass examinations. It does not mean that you cannot grow up contributing to society and making life better for others. We believe that these children are entitled to an education as good as they could get anywhere else. The results gained by our students indicate that we are reaching this ideal. Education is the key to escape the poverty trap."

Joanna became involved with the charity when their work was still on a very small scale, sponsoring individual children and sending them items such as football kits, books and some other small luxuries their families would be otherwise unable to afford. She worked with a little boy whose struggles really struck a chord with her as he was the same age as her son at the time. As membership in Sussex grew, they began sponsoring entire schools, rather than working on a personal basis.

In 2017, as a longterm donor, Joanna was offered a teaching position out there which, unlike in previous years, she was able to take up. She conducted some classes teaching English to the children, but most of her time was spent with the teaching staff taking them through NLP Foundation skills. In an interview, Joanna said, “We had far more interest in NLP than I’d expected, so to make the most of our time we made sure each participant received a full Foundation course manual. I had been observing some of their lessons (including English, science, geography and Kenyan history), which allowed me to develop bespoke sessions for the staff that were going to help them apply NLP practices in the classroom. I led group activities where we helped them to understand their own learning styles, and then taught them how to do the same for their students. After the sessions, the staff were able to help their pupils engage with auditory, visual and kinaesthetic based learning.”

She also attended several meetings with the staff, regarding the school’s progress and its future, and worked with especially vulnerable children living in slums. (Source)

Head Teacher of the Unity School, Mary OBara – said “It's wonderful news to hear that you are now an associate member of the trustees. We really recognise how important the NLP training is to us at Unity school. We really benefited from the NLP training, for instance when you explained to us about the 'eye accessing cues' it could ring a bell to us as teachers. This is because we see many of our learners move their eyes when answering questions. This has helped us to give our learners thinking time to access information before answering the questions. We can't wait to gain more knowledge and skills more so an internationally recognized NLP Diploma!”

One of the pupils from class 5 had the following comments about Madam Joanna's lesson: “Madam Joanna is a very nice teacher. We learnt new words like Shakespeare, Alice and wonderland and also interesting stories. She explained things so well and we could understand her.” Madonna, a pupil from class 8,said, “Madam Joanna really helped us. We learned new words and the lesson was well understood by everyone. I personally, have really benefited a lot and this has improved my performance in English as a subject.”

A teacher, Madam Dorcas, added “ The NLP training was one of the most transformational trainings to date. I gained knowledge which has always helped me a lot. I have developed a strong relationship with my unconscious mind. This has really empowered me. I now have the tools and techniques that I can use to change myself. Thank you Madam Joanna for letting me experience how anything is possible. I love the program please help and make me rich with knowledge by providing more information.”

Joanna, with others, is now in talks regarding the possibility of sponsoring more graduates through college.

The NLP Awards shortlists have been put together from nominations by an independent judging panel. The International NLP Conference takes place on Friday to Sunday 18th – 20th May at the Park Inn by Radisson at Heathrow, London.

The NLP Awards will be presented at a Gala Dinner on Saturday 19th May at the same location. More details of the categories and finalists can be found here.