We are always looking for meaningful opportunities to build our teams’ capacity in Kenya. Especially as we seek to improve our impact in the community through Elimu Resource Centre in Malindi, Kenya.
Summer Coding Workshop
Our IT team was in Nairobi for a Summer Coding workshop organized by Code for Africa on how to implement coding and robotics programs for young learners. They participated in the classes with primary and high school learners, marveling at their mastery of technology.
According to our intern Hosea, “The learners were doing what I have only seen at university level; they solved complex problems with such ease that it baffled me. Even more, they seemed to have so much fun while at it. I believe that learners in remote areas like Malindi deserve such learning opportunities too.”
Upon their return, the team set about to develop a robotics and coding program for learners in Malindi. The trip also established a friendship with the event organizers and we hope to co-create programs with them for our local learners.
Social Media Engagement Workshop
Our Communications Coordinator attended a one-day workshop organized by Kenya Community Development Foundation and TechSoup on how nonprofits can use social media platforms to grow community engagement. Engaging with the community to ensure their ownership of our programs is another big priority at Elimu.
The workshop covered topics such as creative strategies for social media communication for nonprofits. It also shed light on how nonprofits can leverage the different social media platforms to rally a community of supporters for their projects.
Reflecting on the training, Rosemary recounts, “this training was a rich learning experience. Now we know how to align Elimu’s communication efforts to the trends in social media in a way that supports Elimu’s core mission. Moreover, we have learned that through social media, we can get people to reflect on and take action towards the important community needs we seek to serve such as education and skills development.”
We encourage benchmarking and professional development opportunities for our staff as we work towards strengthening our program offerings for the community so that we remain relevant and up to speed with trends in our areas of service, as most importantly so as to ensure that we are always aligning our program goals with the needs of the community. Building our teams’ capacity improves the impact we deliver to children, youth and their families.