Thank you so much for showing interest in the SheLeads Kakuma Mentorship Program!
SheLeads Kakuma is a 6-month intensive empowerment, advocacy, mentorship, and college-preparatory program for young girls and women in the Kakuma Refugee Camp/Kalobeyei Settlements in Kenya.
Kakuma is located in the North-western region of Kenya. The camp was established in 1992 following the arrival of the “Lost Boys of Sudan”. Today, the camp is home to more than 200,000 refugees mostly women and children. In the camp, young girls and women face barriers in participating in educational and leadership opportunities as a result of cultural norms, social pressures, SHRH, and lack of mentorship. This project aims to empower young girls and women as social change leaders and gender equity advocates as well as connect them with opportunities that will help them achieve their full potential.
The program has three main pillars:
1. A 1-week in-person workshop in Kakuma in the last week of December. The workshop will cover self-knowledge, critical thinking, mental health, SRHR, gender equity, interviewing skills, digital literacy, storytelling, advocacy, problem-solving, essay writing, public speaking, college application process, design thinking, project management, and implementation.
2. SheLeads Kakuma 2022 Summit on gender equity, challenges facing girls and women in Kakuma/Kalobeyei, and opportunities. The summit will take place on the 3rd of January 2022.
3. SheLeads Kakuma Mentorship Program. The virtual mentorship program will be on leadership, social change, storytelling, public speaking, advocacy, essay writing, digital literacy, college application, project management and implementation. The mentorship program will take place virtually between January - June 2022.
As a mentor in the program, you will be paired with a young girl in high school/high school graduate (Class of 2020) in the camp who share the same passions and aspirations like you. You will work with your mentee virtually from January - June 2022 following a personalized roadmap tailored to their needs. The mentorship program is based on values such as friendship, empathy, humility, kindness, listening, respect, and acceptance. Mentors and mentees will have to meet at least once a month on Skype/Zoom/Meet/Teams or a similar platform and can communicate via WhatsApp or any other social media channels that work best for the both of you. Throughout the six months, you and your mentee in Kakuma will receive technical and professional support from the SheLeads Kakuma Team. Please note that WhatsApp and Facebook are the most accessible social media channels in the refugee camp and will most likely be the preferred mode of communication with your mentee.
This will be a transformative engagement that will change not just the life of your mentee but will also have a huge impact on the trajectory of your life.
Time commitment: 3-4 hours a month
Compensation: This is a volunteer role
To qualify for this program, you must be a female student enrolled in a college/university or a recent graduate.
If you have any questions, please send an email to
sheleadskakuma@gmail.com or message Nhial Deng (Project Lead, SheLeads Kakuma) on Instagram: @nhial_gabe
To be considered as a mentor in the program, please complete the application form below by the 10th of January 2022 at 5 pm EST.
Thank you very much and we look forward to working with you!
Best,
SheLeads Kakuma Team
