Mentorship program

We believe that becoming proficient in the skills taught at the computer centre is only a first step towards improving each students’ prospects. The second is helping develop these skills into something tangible. Through the mentorship program, top students will work with industry professionals to turn these raw skills into a talent that can help achieve their personal goals. Each mentorship pairing will work in tandem with our advanced ‘Code Dust’ program, a course that teaches javascript, react and html. 

During the initial period, mentors act as more of a teacher, providing exercises and insight into how to improve the student’s ability in each skillset. As the code dust program continues, the mentors help students put these skills into practice through developing a basic app. As the code dust program comes to an end, mentors help students develop a plan as to how best to apply these new skills to their personal situation. 

Many of the mentees are looking to improve their own communities. They, therefore, request mentors help develop an app or a program that can be used by others in Kakuma. Others look for job opportunities online. Here mentors would help provide guidance on how to build a web presence and offer their skills in an effective way. In some cases, the mentee is not yet sure how best to utilize these new skills and turns to the mentor for more general advice. 

Each relationship is unique and builds over time. The time offered by mentors can be truly life-changing for those driven students selected for the program.

We are pleased to receive your application and any questions you may have.

Just fill out the contact form below, or drop us an email at info@source-network.org. 

Please provide the information listed below to help us properly evaluate your application. We compare each application to the skills needed for the program and work to match you with a student. Once we have identified a potential match, we will contact you to organise a video call with one of our team. Should you no longer be able to become a mentor, you can request to delete your information at any time.

• Age
• Gender
• Nationality
• Languages (and respective proficiency levels)
• Professional and educational background
• Any programming/tech skills

Mentees: We select mentees in cooperation with the local team. Our team then has a phone call with each to introduce the program and better understand why they took up classes at the computer centre.

Mentors: After receiving each application we work to identify those with the required skill set for the program. Once selected for a shortlist, we organize phone calls to learn more about you and why you would like to be a part of the program. 

Matching: Our team works to match individuals with similar personalities and attitudes. We believe compatibility is vital in developing these relationships.

Curriculum: We will advise and assist mentor pairings in developing tangible objectives that will most benefit each student.

Commitment: The mentorship will last a minimum of 6 months with the possibility to continue if both parties agree.

Communication: Whilst at the computer centre, students will be connected to the central wifi. As part of the program, we also provide students with up to 1gb of mobile data to ensure mentors can always reach the mentee.

Tools: We will advise mentors and mentees on what freely available internet tools are helpful for the mentorship. 

The skills required for a successful mentorship vary. But the following skills have proven to be very useful in finding a match:

• Above beginner-level proficiency in at least one popular programming language (Javascript, HTML, CSS, Python, C, SQL, etc.)
• Basic familiarity with git
• Knowledge of some common, preferable free tools or workflows in a relevant industry (e.g. Node.js, React, Bootstrap, Anaconda, .NET, Bash, etc.)
• Good communication skills, patience, and empathy