Impact Stories

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  Fellow(s): Sharon Telewa, Maureen Macharia, Helen Mburu, Vanny Nicole Kayirangwa and Samantha Raniere (mentor)

  Country: Kenya

  Region: SSA

  Cohort: 2018

  Project/Action: TechWomen community comes together at Daraja Academy

  Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement

  This week, TechWomen fellows visited Daraja Academy, a secondary school outside of Nanyuki, Kenya, for a day of mentorship with female students. The program was organized by Samantha Raniere, President of Bay Area-based Raniere Consulting and contributor to TechWomen’s Leadership Workshop during the U.S. program. Samantha, an expert in the CliftonStrengths StrengthsFinder assessment, helps Emerging Leaders to better understand their strengths in order to maximize individual and group success.
  Samantha began working as an executive coach with Daraja founders three years ago, collaborating with academy administration, teachers and girls transitioning out of high school. This year, they organized a full day of mentorship activities, inviting all graduates from Daraja back to campus. Samantha reconnected with three TechWomen fellows of Kenya – 2018 fellows Maureen Macharia, Sharon Telewa and Helen Mburu – and 2018 fellow of Rwanda Vanny Nicole Kayirangwa. All four fellows traveled to Daraja for the mentorship day, joining 75 Daraja graduates who had returned to campus for the event. The fellows participated in panel discussions on leadership and how to excel against the odds, followed by group mentoring sessions and empowerment workshops. “The connections made were numerous,” says Samantha. “Sharon has offered to volunteer at Daraja, and others have already scheduled time with the head of school to discuss how they can partner together.”

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  Report Date: 3/4/19

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  Fellow(s): Rana El Chemaitelly

  Country: Lebanon

  Region: MENA

  Cohort: 2017

  Project/Action: Fellow brings robotics initiative to New Jersey school

  Policy Area(s): Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement

  2017 fellow of Lebanon Rana El Chemaitelly recently partnered with a New Jersey charter school to bring a STEM curriculum to the student body. Rana is the CEO and founder of The Little Engineer, an initiative that educates students of all ages in robotics, coding, AI, 3D modeling and more through hands-on activities.
  In 1994, Rana was in New Jersey for a training with Colex, a photofinishing equipment company. Nearly 25 years later, Rana received an email from the company’s founder, who was interested in implementing The Little Engineer programming at College Achieve Paterson Charter School. Rana went to work creating a customized training program, shipping equipment to New Jersey that covered an entire academic year of STEM learning. Rana hopes to continue working with the school and is grateful for the connection she made many years ago. “Wherever I go, I try to plant seeds,” she says. “And I’ve concluded that I will always harvest their fruits – if not at the moment, then in the future.”

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  Report Date: 3/4/19