An important part of the mentoring journey is for a girl to recognise her talents and strengths. So often the young women we work with (and even we ourselves) focus on their deficits. Girls and young women compare themselves to their friends (or celebrities) and find themselves lacking. Here are some questions to discuss with […]
Category Archives: Toolkit 4 – Developing Young Women’s Leadership Through Youth Work
Before we can help a young woman or girl to set goals for herself, it is important to understand how she perceives herself. What makes her happy? What does she feel is lacking in her life? We can only start building when we have established what foundations have already been built. This tool will help […]
So often our relationships are built upon shared interests and memories. Another great ‘get to know each other’ tool for mentors and mentees is the one below. You can share your favourite things, and discuss them. This will allow you both to understand what inspires you, your values and your goals: What is your favourite: […]
Until young women work out what they are giving time, headspace and heartspace to, they can be unclear about what they are prioritising and directing their energies to. Using a 10-point scale, support your mentee to select items according to how high a priority they are in her life. She should give one point to […]
In our African cultures, we often find that people expect there to be one path only, the good path, the path to success. Succeeding and pleasing our parents is often seen as motivation enough for young women. And yet we know this isn’t true, especially for the young generation, who have their own goals and […]
One of the greatest challenges that we have seen is that many mentoring projects or programmes are unstructured. Whilst this may work in traditional forms of mentoring – let’s say when an aunty takes a girl under her wing and gives her advice when she needs it (and often whether she wants it or not!). […]
Mentoring is always best in person, but you may have to do it online sometimes. We have heard from amazing women mentoring girls in remote towns or students who have been sent to remote places as part of their studies or work experience. The mentoring has helped them to negotiate these challenging environments. We also […]
As a mentor, it is important to understand the education system your girls or young women are experiencing to give the best advice to your mentee about their academic performance. Each of our African countries has different education systems, and it’s important that we are aware of our own. Sometimes we find that the system […]
In Africa we are conscious of academic qualifications as routes into work, but did you know that many employers are more interested in soft skills? Soft skills refer to how you work or behave; they are personal attributes needed for job success, including time management, listening skills, networking, teamwork, creative thinking, and conflict resolution. Soft […]
I was just amazed that an adult would want to spend time talking with me about my dreams. No adult has ever really had time for me. Mentee, Nigeria This section provides you with resources so that you can help your mentee to set goals. We would expect this to take several weeks: there is […]