In October when the Kenyan government decided to keep all schools and tertiary institutions closed for the rest of 2020, Kakenya’s Dream decided to transition their tertiary students to serving as mentors to the younger girls, as a way to further engage them while helping the primary students at the same time.

Previously, trained university volunteers across Kenya served as mentors, but they found that the girls and mentors frequently had trouble identifying with each other’s experiences and challenges. Now that Kakenya’s Center for Excellence (KCE) alumnae have sufficiently come of age, those interested will serve in this role so that the primary girls can be mentored by alumnae that have walked in their shoes and are from their own communities.

In late October, ​45​ alumnae spent a week on campus at KCE being trained as mentors and receiving additional training in a variety of personal and professional subjects including effective communication, leadership skills, and problem-solving techniques.

Purity Sulai (Cohort 2014), who is studying human resource management, said, “I want to give back to younger girls in the community by mentoring them because I have also been mentored and helped to become who I am today. Having a mentor is really important because when you are facing challenges you have someone to share with, who can guide
you in a better way. Me being a mentor will be very useful to the younger girls. I will help them to grow socially, physically, and mentally. By the virtue of being close to her/them, they will be free to open up to me regarding the challenges they are going through, and also look up to me for guidance.”