My experience at Akili Dada has been amazingly great and has actually opened great leadership opportunities for me. I am a volunteer mentor and in my own little ways I believe I have managed to impact the lives of young girls and women positively by encouraging them to work towards greatness hence contributing towards empowering the next generation of African Women Leaders. I am grateful to the organization for granting the opportunity to be part of a family of like-minded women. My experience has also contributed towards awakening my potential for community service through giving back to the society.
The organization creates an enabling environment for mentorship without any form of discrimination. I have a passion for women empowerment and Akili Dada Foundation is where I got the chance to reach to as many young girls as possible. Being a one-on-one mentor has been one of my greatest source of satisfaction at Akili Dada. The staff members at Akili Dada are so understanding and supportive and perform their duties effectively while upholding the key values of Sisterhood, Transformation, Integrity, Leadership and Excellence
Epic programming. Inspiring leadership. Impeccable trainings. One can't find enough words to define Akili Dada's work and their approach to feminist leadership and mentorship.
Our organization was honored to have the chance of being a grantee from one of Akili Dada's projects - East Africa Young Women Feminist Leadership and Mentoring Initiative. Our interaction with Akili Dada has continually equipped us with leadership skills as well as grown our capacity to enhance feminist participatory approaches to development work. Akili Dada has gone the extra mile to bridge the inter-generational gaps in African feminist leadership by creating a mentorship infrastructure which epitomizes personal agency and focuses on building holistic proficiency of upcoming young women leaders. Akili Dada lives up to it's core mission of nurturing transformative leadership in girls and young women from underprivileged backgrounds to meet the urgent need for more African Women in Leadership.
I as a beneficiary of Akili Dada would like to recommend the organization for the much it has molded me to be. Through the various trainings, leadership academies and internship opportunities it offers, I have been developed into a strong woman who is able to stand up and speak for her rights. I have also learnt various life skill lessons that keep me going daily. Akili Dada is indeed the best organization I have been to.
First cohort fellow who implemented a social change project on Environmetal education in school. Learnt so much on leadership skills and being transformational.
Akili Dada made me realize my potential as a woman and a leader. It went further by lightning the fire within me, and show me ways I can be of positive impact to my society.
I would say that Akili Dada is a nonprofit that works with excellence. Their strategies are to the core and the results speak for themselves. I am honored to be part of the Akili Dada Family as they impacted my life in a great way and many others.
The work Akili Dada does with girls and young women is amazing. Providing space for young women to exercise power and lead ,Akili dada is resourceful in terms of information . This is one of the organization working for the good of women and young girls, they are all round. I believe that they've put a smile on many young faces.
In this society, that has metamorphosized to a very individualistic society, to find someone willing to take some time to walk with you for a season, give you tips on how to perch yourself on a tree and see the horizon is not only a blessing, but a privilege too. Thankyou to Akili dada for giving people of all caliber, especially from the less privileged an opportunity to learn,interact with others and to broaden their horizons....
Thankyou too for giving those with a blessing of experience an opportunity to share lessons light...Together, we have lit many candles.
Do keep the fire burning and keep opening doors for others..
Well, these sisters make you intellect! They become the family you never had. They mold you, cry with you, celebrate with you, and celebrate you too. I've been through their fellowship program and am glad to say I can do it all over again. They inspired me to be who I am now in my Organisation.
My experience with Akili Dada has been one of a learning experience. Akili dada being the leading partner of the east Africa young feminist and leadership initiative a global fund project, I have had the privilege to learn from them and also share my experience with them. akili dada nurtures young leaders to ensure they reach their full potential.
Volunteering with Akili Dada has been an enlightening experience. It has changed my view of the world. l now understand with depth and clarity what it means to lack.
My best moments were during visits to the community schools and the juvenile rehabilitation centre. l was chanced to meet the most underprivileged girls; whom I consider heroines. Despite the unfavourable circumstances around them, they didn't give up on education. In my encounters with these girls, l realized many of them find great joy in sharing their stories.
Apart from the material basic needs, these girls require a shoulder to lean on and a voice to guide their walk. Through Akili Dada, l became one of those voices; giving hope to these girls.
Every time I get to spend with Akili Dada, even though I am supposed to be the mentor, I get mentored quite often. As being part of Akili Dada, I learn so much. I think what I like most is the vibrancy and the advocacy of the organization towards girl child.
Akili Dada is the one place that I wish I found years ago when I was younger. It is a home where young girls can find hope and seek refuge when at the peak of teenagehood. It mentors, educates, nurtures and moulds young girls to be the best version of themselves. It is not every day you get an organization that is so selfless, disciplined and dedicated in seeing growth. Even as a mentor, I have learnt so much. I am proudly associated and you should be too. Rose Kariuki, mentor.
Akili Dada's work is improving the lives of young women wholistically through various in and outdoor engagements. The transformation of the forthcoming young women leaders (because thats what they are) is actually visible and tangible.
As a Mentor, my life is now different - why? Because through AD, am leaving a mark, holding someone's hand, and nurturing a beautiful leader.
Can clearly see where the funding goes! Finally, an organization that gives disadvantaged and bright Kenya women hope!
I have been part of Akili Dada from almost the very beginning as a scholar and now as a member of the advisory council representing the scholars and alumnae. Numerous opportunities have opened up for me just by virtue of being a scholar. Not only was I able to successfully complete my secondary education,but I also interacted with some of Kenya's most successful women who gave me invaluable tips on how to conciously prepare my path to greatness. The mentoring I received served not only to enable me to be more deliberate when making choices but to also realise I am a resource that the community around me could use; that rising up includes looking back and pulling up someone with me. Akili Dada teaches me every day that intelligence means nothing unless it comes with character and a desire to make a change.
Akili Dada has such a strong vision for what's possible when girls get the right education and exposure to role models. Their work helps girls raise their goals and also helps mentors see the value of their work on a new dimension. The leadership of this group has high standards for performance and is committed to building sustainable programs that encourage and strengthen existing educational infrastructure.
I have been an intern for Akili Dada for four years now. I have chosen to make a large commitment to this amazing organization because I believe in its values and want to support them. It is women-focused, it has a long-term vision, it takes a positive approach, and it encourages innovation. I have been fortunate enough to work one-on-one with the founder/executive director throughout my internship, and from building a relationship with her, have full trust in the thoughtfulness, intelligence, and experience that she brings to Akili Dada. She has proven to me, through her articulate explanations of the amount of foresight that went into Akili Dada before it got off the ground, that Akili Dada has great promise. I believe in the brilliance of our scholars.
As an intern with Akili Dada I have been able to see the inner workings of a non profit organization that I hope others will strive to emulate. I have spent some time studying the ethics of aid as well as the politics of development and I respect the ways in which this organization has taken into account so many issues with donations before actually getting into this type of work. One specific example of this is the fact that this organization raises the full amount of tuition and fees for a student for all four years before giving the scholarship to the student. This ensures that no matter what happens in the long run with economic downturns, these girls will be able to continue their education. I respect the amount of thought goes behind every decision, weighing the outcomes that are forseeable.
As an intern with Akili Dada for almost six months now, I have been blown away at how true the organization is to its mission, how strong and dedicated the executive director and the organization's supporters are, and at the impact that is made in Kenya. The growth of Akili Dada's work to come is going to be monumental and I am excited to be a part of it. On a minuscule budget, this organization pulls resources and skills together from diverse leaders in California and elsewhere to be able to give the most to the scholars in Kenya. With sustainable principles, like the mentorship program, I believe this is a model organization to follow. In my experience at a fundraiser, people on the Peninsula who donate regularly to non profits are pleased with the results and work of Akili Dada and will hopefully keep supporting us!
When I first learned about Akili Dada's mission, I was a senior in college and desperately looking for some way to combine my field of study (international studies) and my passion for social justice and international development. I learned that Dr. Kamau-Rutenberg, Akili Dada's founder and Executive Director and also my professor at the time, was in need of interns to help with the nonprofit's administration and development. I jumped at the chance to get involved, and since then have become passionate about Akili Dada's mission and have found my volunteer work with the organization to be incredibly fulfilling. It's an honor to be part of building this new but highly necessary and functional organization from the ground up!
Akili Dada is a remarkable organization, using effective methods to support excellent female students in Kenya, create networks among professional women and mentoring relationships between professionals and students, and bring more voices to the leadership of Kenya. The students' stories are touching, the financial policies sound, and the vision wonderful.
In Kenya, High Schools charge tuition. If a family is poor, they generally just send the boys to school. As a result, many young women do not have the opportunity to become educated leaders in government and business. Akili Dada changes lives - and it will change Kenya. Sometimes it is hard to see all the suffering in the world and know what to do about it. But Akili Dada finds brilliant young women scholars in Kenya and provides them with a great high school education so that they can change their country. I have volunteered for and donated to Akili Dada since its inception, and continue to be involved because of the high impact and stellar leadership in Kenya and the US. Akili Dada is a fund of the California based Tides Foundation, and is overseen by the governing board, international board, and advisors. The money is safe, and it does good.