How mentoring makes a difference in women and girls' education
A key component of WONDER’s work is mentoring, and the individual support each woman and girl receives.
Developing sustainable mentoring programmes for women and girls
Growing confidence
Through mentoring, women and girls receive the message that they matter. They learn to value themselves, and be proud of their work.
Building soft skills
With their mentor, women and girls are able to develop soft skills such as time management, teamwork, and problem solving.
Establishing trust
Many of the women and girls we work with have experienced trauma. The individual attention of a mentor helps them feel safe and listened to.
Without my scholarship, I would not be able to attain the level of learning and skill that I have today.
How does mentoring empower women and girls?
Case study: The Mwangaza Project, Kenya
The Mwangaza Project is training 600 women in Nairobi to develop their own business. The training lasts nine months, and women are paired with a mentor. Along with business skills, women can develop greater self-esteem and confidence in their decision-making.
Case study: The Baytree Centre, United Kingdom
Mentors work with participants to strengthen their goal-setting, decision-making, and resilience over time. Women and girls develop the organisational and time-management skills to succeed, and are prepared for navigating challenges and resolving conflicts in the workplace.
How can having a mentor help women succeed?
Watch Sara’s story below to see the difference a mentor can make.
Read our latest reports on the impact of mentoring
WONDER's partnership with EMPath
In 2020, we began partnering with EMPath to formalise our work in mentoring. We are now piloting the EMPath mentoring method, known as mobility mentoring. An essential tool used by EMPath is the “Bridge to Self-Sufficiency.” The Bridge is used as a tool to guide conversations between mentors and mentees, while also acting as a structure to assess challenges and track progress made.
At WONDER, we collaborate with our partners to modify the Bridge model to account for challenges and successes in a local context. This is reflective of WONDER’s overall approach, which listens to the expertise of local women leaders to develop sustainable programmes.
Currently, we have developed Bridge models with the Baytree Centre in the UK, and Kianda Foundation in Kenya. We are currently customising models for Cameroon, Nigeria and Guatemala.
