Graduating isn’t the end of a student’s journey—it’s only the beginning.
Our job at Kakenya’s Dream isn’t finished when our students graduate high school or university. Our ultimate goal is to empower a generation of girls to achieve lifelong success and fulfillment, and to do that, they need continuing support after graduation and beyond. That’s why we are excited to announce the launch of our newest initiative: the Kakenya’s Dream Alumni Network!
The alumni network will help support our girls across all three stages of their educational and professional journeys: during school, after graduation, and throughout their careers.
For current students at our schools, the network will provide access to alumni mentors, who will share their own experiences as graduates of our programs and serve as inspirational role models for the younger girls. “We believe our graduates will unite and support their younger sisters through mentorship, creating a pool of change agents working together to better themselves and the community,” says Director of Programs Daniel Korinko.
Upon graduation, the network will provide alumni with a range of professional resources, such as internship listings, job readiness training, networking opportunities, and financial literacy workshops. These resources will help build practical professional skills that aren’t typically covered through general education in Kenya.
Completing school and figuring out what to do next in life is a major transition for every young adult, but especially for first-generation graduates like ours. Because most of their families haven’t navigated this particular transition themselves, they lack the knowledge and tools to guide our alumni. Our network will provide that guidance and a strong support system to help these young women thrive.
And finally, long after our alumni have started their own careers, businesses, and families, the network will connect them, helping maintain the bonds they forged during their time at Kakenya’s Dream. Our founder, Dr. Kakenya Ntaiya, shares, “I keep telling the girls that one day, one of them will be a member of parliament, the other will be a banker, the other a lawyer, the other a farmer. There are very few women in all of these spaces, which is why a supportive network is so important. It will strengthen them as leaders and amplify their voices. It will be like a family.”
Alumni from our pioneer class have worked hard this year to lay the foundation for the network. Their leadership has been instrumental to ensure we create a resource that adequately meets their needs and their own vision for the future. They emphasized that creating opportunities to give back to the community through the network is a top priority.
Alumna Dr. Violet Seenoi (above) shares, “It would be unfair to let Dr. Kakenya do everything in the community. We want to expand what she does by reaching out to other girls and boys in our community and beyond. I hope we shall have many get togethers where we can strategize on how we can give back to the community. We want to play a role in environmental conservation by donating and planting trees, among other community projects.”
The group returned to our campus last month for an event to celebrate the official launch of the alumni network. Over 300 current students, parents, and community members were also in attendance. During the launch event, alumni expressed hope and confidence that the network will enable them to carry the mission of Kakenya’s Dream forward. We are deeply inspired by their philanthropic mindset and excited to see how they shape our community and support each other in the years to come.
A supportive community is just as important to a person’s success as a formal education. While one must eventually come to an end, the other can last a lifetime. With our new alumni network, our graduates will always be a part of the Kakenya’s Dream community, no matter where life takes them.
