Mentorship and Empowerment for the Girl Child; KSH Foundation Blends it All

To crown its debut program EveryGirl, the KSH Foundation provided enablement in the form of a laptop and paired it’s fellows with mentors who would guide them on their chosen career path and self knowledge.

The KSH Foundation, a non-profit organisation that seeks to leverage technology and entrepreneurship and its role in early human development concluded on the second phase of its debut program EveryGirl, a program designed holistically for young women entrepreneurs between the ages of 15-19 with an interest in technology and tech-related fields.

The program which held at the CANs park, a hub founded by Khalil Halilu, who is also the founder of the foundation saw the revealing of beneficiaries of the EveryGirl program who were referred to as EveryGirl fellows with each fellow representing the six geopolitical zones across the country.

This program which was delivered in three-phase, worked with over 50 girls in its first phase. These girls were nominated by individuals from partner hubs and were tutored through pre-recorded videos and virtual live interactive sessions on tech courses as well as self development courses the likes of programming and coding, customer validation, business model canva, and software development and personal development knowledge areas like self-confidence and self-esteem, communication, productivity, mental health, money health, sexual health and careers in IT. According to Khalil Halilu, it is paramount that young girls are built in such a manner that they can stand on their own, there’s never a thing like super charging someone, every experience is relevant. From the pool of the 50 girls who participated in the first phase, 8 of them were chosen to become the fellows of the EveryGirl program.

Intentionally curated to provide both theoretical and practical knowledge in different layers, the second phase was a physical immersion in the city of Abuja for four days on a fully-funded trip. Centred around building and developing young girls wholistically, the fellows were taken on a journey into the world of tech in different sectors. They were also engaged by industry leaders on the current reality of technology in their sectors and the possibilities afforded by technology. Visits were made to organizations like Hamu legal, EHA clinic, and Almat farm. This gave the girls a feel into the world of technology and the impact it’s making.

During the reveal event, the fellows were opportuned to present ideas of technology-inclined businesses they desired to work on and problems within their community or otherwise they intended to solve, to a network of audience with the intention of garnering more support. They were also provided technical support (Laptops) and were paired with mentors who would provide lifelong support.

They were tutored. The girls had an interesting learning time. The tutors also spoke of an unmatched enthusiasm and dedication from the girls.

To crown the program, the fellows will go on to acquire more knowledge on technology- the third phase. They will be taken on courses; Cyber security, web development, fintech, foundation in project management, and how to source for investment/grant. As opposed to the first phase where learnings were delivered through hubs, the fellows were able to learn independently as a result of the provision of laptops by the foundation.

According to Farida Yahya, program coordinator for EveryGirl, while we still have more work to do, we can say that the purpose and objectives of the program was duly met.

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