Change the Lives of 240 Vulnerable Youth in Kenya

COHORT 12 ENROLLMENT 

On May 10th, 2022, we onboarded a new cohort - cohort 12. This was after a lengthy recruitment process in the months of February, March, and April. The Good Kenyan Foundation’s team efforts in outreach for deserving youth from underserved communities managed to get 62 applications done both online and offline. The team then conducted interviews and successfully vetted 34 students who joined the program. This cohort has been the largest that the foundation has taken up since its inception in 2017. 

OPEN DAY

Trainees from Cohort 12 were officially welcomed to Good Kenyan Foundation on May 10th, 2022. They had an interactive session with members of the Good Kenyan team who took them through an intricate introduction to the foundation and what they should expect in the 3-month program. They then got to ask questions and express what their expectations were for the program. They also got notebooks and pens to help them with their classes.

The new trainees got the chance to interact with the Crafts Class instructor Ms. Grace. She took them through a brief look into what the craft class entailed as they looked at products made by alumni from past cohorts. 

The parents present during the open day were hopeful of what was to come of the 3-month program and encouraged the trainees to give their best effort. Some of the trainees mentioned being eager to begin the ICT classes and finally getting computer skills, especially in Microsoft office.

PROGRAM PROGRESS

As part of the Mwanzo Program, the trainees had facilitators who took them through ICT, Entrepreneurship, Crafts, and Life skills classes from Monday through to Thursday. In the ICT class, the trainees got to learn word processing, mail, Excel, and  PowerPoint among other basic computer skills. The entrepreneurship class created an opportunity for the trainees to come up with lucrative business ideas that they then pitched to a team of potential investors assembled by the foundation. In this pitching session, the trainees got to use the PowerPoint knowledge garnered from the ICT class and created well-organized and cohesive pitching presentations. This pitching session exposed the trainees to a real-life business scenario and also built their confidence in public speaking.

The trainees enjoy their life skills sessions with facilitator Maureen as they credit the classes for helping boost their confidence and understanding of themselves and their personality types. They have developed an appreciation for journaling as they submit weekly journals of what their weeks have been. Journaling has acted as a hobby for some and a decompressor for others. 

They also had the opportunity to interact with guest speakers every Friday as part of the soft skills venture. These speakers focused on different topics and shared their inspirational personal life experiences in the process.  These sessions exposed the trainees to conversations around personal finance, public speaking & interview preparation, storytelling, vision boarding, pitching & networking, etiquette, and personal success stories. 

This cohort also had the chance of getting engaged in conversation with a representative from Siasa place. This conversation revolved around active youth engagement in the upcoming general elections and making informed decisions as they cast their votes. The speaker also empowered them with knowledge of how important their role in the elections will be. This session was very crucial in changing the narrative of what role the youth from disadvantaged communities play during election periods. 

STUDENT STORY

This is James, best known to us as Kyle. He is 19 years old and part of cohort 12.  James comes from Kibera- Laini Saba and attained a B- in his KCSE. When he joined the Mwanzo program he was determined to pursue a career in clinical medicine. He showed great commitment to the program and was always punctual when it came to classes and took charge of leadership in his class. James showed great potential in his public speaking abilities as he gave guest speakers a vote of thanks with confidence and 

Outside of the Good Kenyan Mwanzo Program, James is passionate about his charity- Spread a Smile foundation.  He founded the charity that visits children’s homes and public schools in slums because he is passionate about giving back to the children in his community through uplifting orphaned and vulnerable children.

MENTORSHIP 

As is the norm for all cohorts, a call for mentors on the Good Kenyan Foundation’s social media platforms was done. This call targeted individuals who are passionate about the youth and have made something of themselves in their professions. This recruitment took several weeks as more mentors were required to match the higher number of students accommodated in Cohort 12.

After careful vetting and assessment of the applications received, mentors were matched to mentees according to career, interest, or personality dynamics. 

MENTORSHIP WORKSHOP 

On the 25th of June 2022, we conducted a workshop. The main objective of the workshop was to ensure that the prospective mentors were informed of what was expected of them in the year-long mentorship endeavor. The workshop was a session designed to equip the mentors on how to go about the mentorship journey, to give them the tools to go about it and offer a platform where useful discussions about mentorship could be hosted. The mentors got to ask questions, brainstorm, and share past mentorship experiences with each other. The Good Kenyan team along with the training facilitators, Chris and Patrick took the mentors through various scenarios and the groups got to discuss possible outcomes and the best responses to them. The Good Kenyan Foundation team also covered the administration side of the mentorship where they discussed the expectations, the do’s and don’ts, reporting, and the Mentorship Agreement.

The Good Kenyan Foundation Alumni representatives were also present at the workshop. The mentors got to interact and ask questions. It opened their eyes to the perspective of the young people. They were encouraged to invest in building a relationship with the mentee as a way of ensuring a good foundation for their relationship.

Other Activities 

The trainees from cohort 12 and other alumni had the opportunity of receiving Official wear donations from The James and Anne Gachui Foundation, in line with the Foundation. They each selected several garments that will allow them to be well prepared for job interviews and other employment opportunities.