guest post from World Pulse
One Inspiring Story of Connection and Impact, from Cameroon to Uganda and Beyond, with World Pulse
“[My Mentor] Arrey Echi is a very beautiful, selfless soul [and] welcomed me with open arms.” – Jackline Brenda Lanyero, Uganda
“When women are heard and connected, they can transform the world for the better.” This is the conviction behind World Pulse, an independent, women-led social network for social change that has grown to 80,0000 members in 227 countries. We know that every woman changemaker starts somewhere. But she needs to have a voice, motivation and support to change the world with the best solutions out there.
In other words, when women help show each other the way, we can create a big, beautiful impact… together. Shouldn’t that be something we can do this International Women’s Day, and every day?
There are so many ways to mentor, and World Pulse – one of the organizations that is leading the way – takes a unique approach. Over the past three years, World Pulse’s online mentorship program has paired mentees and mentors together across 25 countries and is on track to expand to reach more women around the world with the support of Dr. Nancy and Women Connect4Good.
Unlike many other mentorship programs, World Pulse’s is rooted in the core value of consent: instead of program staff members making matches, both the mentors and mentees consent actively to the relationship before the match is made. The matches are truly global and break out of the mold that the mentor must come from the U.S. or the west in general. A woman in Mexico may be a mentor to someone in Canada; a woman in Cameroon might mentor someone in Uganda.
Such is the case with Jackline (Brenda) Lanyero of Uganda, a social worker who describes herself as someone who loves to work with the community, teach children, read books and visit new places. She was having a difficult time finding a job that was fulfilling and hoped to also find the means and resources to help groups of women in her community generate enough income to provide for their family – especially mothers of children suffering from nodding syndrome, a neurological condition characterized by episodes of repetitive dropping forward of the head, and seizure-like activity.
In World Pulse’s program, interested women apply to be a mentor or mentee, consent to program requirements (such as time commitment) and complete orientation training. Three to five potential matches are then made, based on accessibility, language match, and time zone (within 5 hours or less), the only caveat being that they must be from different countries. (This is how World Pulse helps to expand the global knowledge network and develop a better cross-cultural understanding.) After the mentor and mentee both consent to their initial matches, an orientation is conducted before final match announcements. The mentorship is expected to last six months.
A mentor match changing lives and growing impact for mothers in Uganda
Brenda describes the moment she was matched with Arrey-Echi Agbor-Ndakaw of Cameroon, the founder of the Joy2Endure Foundation. Her organization supports those with Sickle Cell disease – a painful, inherited blood disorder that impacts 120 million people worldwide – with medicines, skills workshops and educational awareness programs. Arrey was also a World Pulse “Spirit Award” winner in 2020 and the Sickle Cell 101 International Advocate of the Year 2019. Brenda wrote on World Pulse:
I was overjoyed when I received an email notifying me of the final match and that the very person [Arrey-Echi] I chose, accepted to be my mentor. I was like “YES!” am not dreaming anymore. I was nervous and excited at the same time.
The meeting day came and anxiety took over as something kept telling me that it would be hard to start up the conversation and all that. NO!! I was wrong and I had been wrong all along. The meeting was fun and exciting as I felt like we had known each other since childhood.
Arrey Echi is a very beautiful, selfless soul [and] welcomed me with open arms.
I remember we had scheduled to meet for an hour [the] first time but we went beyond the set time and all our other meetings have been going beyond the one hour. She has also made it possible to meet any other day in case one of us has been busy on the agreed day.
… At each meeting, we have a topic (which we have selected at the previous meeting) and handle that exhaustively and even have time for personal time to talk about things outside the mentorship which is really helping me. For example, we have already discussed registering my organization, then having a Facebook page of the organization and how to go about fundraising, as it is very crucial for my work to expand and reach more women and teen mothers.
I have [learned] so much in [these] almost two months and I feel like we have been meeting for the past 6 months.
Arrey, you are really a blessing and I thank you for accepting to travel this road with me and I know you will still continue to hold my hands even after this program.
The love and appreciation seemed to be fully reciprocated by her mentor, Arrey-Echi, who described the pairing as a “great relationship” that involved chatting away in each session, ending the call inspired, anticipating the next one, and encouraging Brenda to reach out anytime. As Arrey-Echi is hard of hearing, the pair found ways to connect using WhatsApp and Zoom with captioning. For a few weeks, they communicated every Saturday, until Arrey-Echi’s phone was stolen. Even then, they continued to use email and check in.
Of her mentee, Arrey-Echi reflected that Brenda is “compassionate and empathetic, resilient in the face of many personal challenges.” She added, “sometimes, I am reminded of me: determined to rise against the odds.”
Two perfect strangers, from different countries, connected in mentorship to work to change their communities for the better. From this, Brenda said she found a “sister, teacher and role model in Arrey” and grew the courage to register her organization and develop a strategy to fundraise for the women in her community. Likewise, Arrey-Echi saw the mentorship as a “beautiful six months, and a lifetime of impact.”
It’s just one example of a successful mentorship out of many. And the lesson this International Women’s Day: We can all take charge, connect deeply, develop leadership skills and go on to “rise against the odds.” Especially with a little help from our ‘sisters.’
Want to make an impact and be a World Pulse mentor? Start by logging on to WorldPulse.org and sharing your story today.
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Women Connect4Good is proud to partner with World Pulse, an independent, women-led, global social network for social change. They share our belief in the power of women helping women and are using the power of technology to grow women’s leadership across the globe. They’ve created a safe digital refuge where women can unite to courageously tell their stories, share resources, start businesses, run for office, and launch movements. We are happy to support them as they work to create a world — both online and off — where all women thrive.