The Ubuntu philosophy of, ‘’I am because we are,’’ denotes the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity. Underpinning this timeless creed, Youth Bridge Kenya(YBK) is focused on creating mentorship platforms across political, social and economic spheres as a way of lifting the humanity banner higher, ensuring no one is left behind as we pursue a better world for everyone to live in. In this, the focus of YBK is in establishing an inter-generational mentorship network for nurturing leadership, promotion of civic duty, good and responsible citizenry and the spirit of ubuntu in our communities.

In this process, YBK engages in formal and informal transmission of knowledge, and makes use of social capital within and beyond the sector to implement programs on career exploration, mental health and psychosocial support relevant to community, work and career, personal, and professional development. This is done through three programs;

1. Career Mentorship

This program focuses on career mentorship for high school students in informal settlements in Nairobi with a goal of providing significant, life-changing opportunities for success among the vulnerable youth. This is accomplished by providing targeted mentoring and wraparound services to boys and girls in Nairobi informal settlements. These wraparound services will among other things support our program goals of decreasing in and out-of-school behavioral challenges such as referrals, suspensions, and expulsions, and instead promote discipline and hard work towards a defined career path. In addition, by focusing on behavior and attendance, these wraparound services will increase grade-to-grade transition and career exposure opportunities. Subsequently, these career mentorship services will increase lifelong success opportunities among vulnerable youth who previously did not have a professional mentor or role model to look up to.

Milestone Focus Areas are; 

  1. Provide Education Support for program participants, parents, and communities
  2. Provide mentorship and guidance to all program participants
  3. Provide career exploration opportunities to all program participants
  4. Provide employment/internship opportunities to program participants
  5. Ensure a reduction in juvenile delinquencies including crime, alcohol and drugs abuse, and teenage pregnancies among high school students in informal settlements

Program Overview

This program provides targeted mentoring to selected students in schools located in informal settlements and slum areas of Kangemi, Kawangware, Mathare, Korogocho and Kibra. Selected Program participants will receive fortnight and out-of-school Brother-to- Brother and Sister-to-Sister individualized mentoring sessions. During these sessions, volunteer lead student advocates focus on developing positive relationships and identifying glaring needs to aid with student success. Furthermore, by working with partners and other organizations, parents of program participants are contacted monthly to make sure the family’s needs and support are met.

These sessions are highlighted through the development of a life map to assist the family with addressing identified needs and challenges. These wraparound services provide access to contract services and resources. In addition to individual sessions, students will engage in character development conversations through engagement opportunities. These conversations are framed within a 36-week curriculum that YBK mentors will utilize throughout the year. Lastly, YBK aims at partnering with other organizations to expose students to new techniques and skill sets to enhance personal development and career aspirations.

YBK hosts career talks in social halls domiciled in the informal settlements where the participants and interested students from informal settlements have an opportunity to be taken through various career guidance sessions by professional mentors. These professional mentors who volunteer for these career talk’s that include insights from doctors, lawyers, engineers, economists, pilots, academics, scientists among other professions.

Program Goals

  1. To reduce juvenile delinquency among high school students in informal settlements. 
  2. To decrease the percentage of suspensions, expulsions and drop out cases among high school students in slum areas.
  3. To increase school attendance and the percentage of grade to grade transition in slum areas.
  4. To increase career exposure among high school students in slum areas
  5. To promote education as a tool for progress, empowerment and development

2. Bonfire Leadership Program 

Through the flagship Bonfire Leadership Program, Youth Bridge Kenya competitively recruit mentees for leadership, civic and governance sectors that would have both formal and informal, face-to-face, interactive sessions with current reputable national and global leaders for a sustained period of six months. 

The first phase targets university and college student leaders and upcoming leaders who are taken through a worthwhile and enriching leadership program excellently designed by reputable former student leaders and life skills coaches. 

The program includes; 

  1. Communication skills: Communication is essential for leaders; thus, the training focuses on it in detail. It includes active listening, clear and concise communication, and providing and receiving feedback
  2. Team-building techniques and strategies: Good leaders should be able to encourage their team members to collaborate and work together harmoniously so they can achieve greater goals. Leading a group of people with different interests and points of view, it’s often difficult for leaders to stand in the middle and make sure everyone’s ideas are heard. In this, we focus on equipping the leaders with the skills and tools they need to communicate properly with their team and increase the success of their teamwork, and most importantly, equip them with some tips and tricks to build trust and rapport with everyone to promote greater team unity.  
  3. Developing strategic thinking: It is designed to help leaders think strategically, plan and prioritize effectively, and make sound decisions.
  4. Improving emotional intelligence: Building relationships, managing stress, and navigating difficult situations require emotional intelligence. This program focuses on the development of self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, and social skills
  5. Time-management strategies: To achieve their objectives, leaders must be able to manage their time effectively. This course covers time-management techniques such as prioritizing, delegating tasks, and dealing with distractions
  6. Leading change: In today’s society, change is unavoidable and inevitable, and this training teaches how to effectively lead change, manage resistance, communicate the change, and support upcoming leaders during the transition with change by understanding what drives it and the uncertainty that surrounds it, how people respond to it and how to use it to learn a different, more effective and productive way of doing things. Training topics include points on challenges brought on by change, the importance of resilience, opportunities presented by change and understanding steps to use change positively by evaluating it and applying new processes or ideas for success.
  7. Diversity and inclusion: Leaders must create an inclusive work environment that values diversity and promotes equity. It covers unconscious bias awareness, inclusive communication, and team building. With this in mind, a good leader should know how to lead and collaborate with a diverse team, and bring all their good qualities together to work in harmony regardless of their cultures, races, genders, and sexual orientations. Raising awareness about diversity and inclusion will help leaders combat stereotypes, discrimination, and unconscious bias.
  8. Conflict-resolution techniques: A leader must manage conflicts to effectively maintain a positive and productive work environment. This course focuses on conflict-resolution techniques such as active listening, negotiation, and mediation.
  9. Performance-management strategies: To achieve set goals, leaders must be able to manage the performance of their team members. This course covers strategies related to performance management, such as goal setting, feedback, and recognizing and rewarding excellent performance.
  10. Different Leadership Styles This leadership training topic is critical for new and aspiring leaders. While often overlooked, having a clear grasp of different leadership styles can help leaders determine different ways they can lead their team, develop their own approach, and identify key steps to further improve it. It will also create an opportunity for them to discover the qualities and effectiveness of other leadership styles that they’re not yet aware of and combine them for more effective and impactful leadership.
  11. Goal Setting Setting goals helps leaders stay focused on what really matters and gives them direction to fulfill their purpose. To fully maximize its potential and bring it to fruition, goals must be well-defined and attainable within a certain span of time. When setting goals, a good model to follow is George Doran, Arthur Miller, and James Cunningham’s SMART goals.
  12. Accountability This skill is usually tied to good leadership. Highly accountable leaders are known to accept responsibility for their actions and own the outcomes of these actions, whether good or bad. This topic on leadership training helps the upcoming leaders learn key behaviors that will allow them to build and hone their accountability skills and establish a community where everyone’s honest and accountable for their actions.
  13. Virtual Leadership This training helps upcoming leaders acquire the skills needed to lead digital teams. Training topics include; communicating without face-to-face interaction, development of high emotional intelligence to steer team empowerment, culture, collaboration and engagement, and maximizing online tools while perfecting technical skills to use the tools efficiently.

To buttress the knowledge and skills transfer, participants under this program have an informal face-to-face bonfire mentorship sessions with reputable and iconic leaders in politics, governance and civic spaces. The overall objective of this program is to equip future leaders with knowledge, skills and attitudes for community, national and global development.

For those interested please register below:

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