Kakenya’s Dream is embarking on a mentoring program to engage the tertiary students in mentoring younger students from Kakenya’s Center for Excellence. This program is proudly supported by Women for Change.

Now that a significant number of the pioneering Cohort are set to graduate from various tertiary institutions in 2021, it is timely to engage them in working with the younger students to begin the process of giving back. We feel that pairing the younger students with women that have walked in their shoes will make this component of programming at Kakenya’s Center for Excellence even more transformative.

In order to bridge the gap from mentee to mentor and further develop the skill-sets of the tertiary students, Kakenya’s Dream conducted a week-long workshop from 13th – 18th October on how to be a mentor. During this workshop, the tertiary students were tasked with the responsibility of identifying a leadership team to guide their entire group. While the students were together, the students also worked to further their own development and began to prepare to transition to the workforce. There were sessions on CV writing, job searching, networking, interviewing, and professional expectations and etiquette.

To model the realities of the professional world and to build a culture of giving back, each of our tertiary students has been paired as mentors to three to four of primary students. While school is out, due to the pandemic, they will be expected to meet with their mentees on a weekly basis to assist with homework as well as being a source of support and inspiration to their mentees. On a monthly basis, they will be expected to provide a brief accounting of their meetings to the organization. For their service they will be provided a monthly stipend.

Post- COVID, the mentor/mentee relationship will continue at least while the organization is still sponsoring the tertiary students. Eventually, through our alumnae programming and the development of cohort leaders, our alumnae will continue to serve as mentors and work to improve, enhance, and train future generations of mentors.