Asian University for Women provides Pilot Program mentors for Mai Soli Foundation
A brief overview of Mai Soli Foundation:
Mai Soli Foundation tackles large-scale societal problems like child marriage and cyclical dependency by addressing the roots of gender inequality. Their research found the primary root cause of child marriage to be financially motivated, as girls are considered economic liabilities to their families, lacking neccessary skills and knowledge to join the workforce. They therefore concluded that the best course of action would be to position girls to be as good if not better investment than boys for their communities. This is accomplished by creating the space of education, empowerment, and entrepreneurship needed to transform girls into leaders in their communities. Each week, mentors are sent to local, non-governmental girls schools in Salimpur and Chittagong. Nearly all of these mentors are from the Asian University of Women, a product of a highly selective vetting process and intensive orientation training sessions. Using their proprietary curricula, focused in Entrepreneurship, Financial Literacy, and Leadership Confidence, girls in the program receive interactive and impactful lessons that are reinforced by group cohort sessions, and one-on-one meetings, and team field experiences and projects. By pairing education with action and coaching, the girls develop the soft and hard skills needed to rise as entrepreneurial thinkers and doers in their communities, reinventing and modernizing the image of a woman’s capacity and impact in oppressive societies.
Back on Campus
In AUW’s first week back on campus for the Spring 2020 semester, Mai Soli Foundation’s intensive Mentorship Training Program (MTP) was already underway, coaching and developing their first mentor cohort for their Pilot Program. The foundation’s MTP was conducted by Aria Mustary, their President and Founder, and Aaron Wendell, their Vice President of Operations, both of whom travelled to Bangladesh for three weeks to prepare and execute the Pilot Program launch. As a part of the MTP, mentors undertook a week-long intensive program in which they were instilled with the knowledge and mindset needed to teach and mentor their cohorts. Their goal: develop the next generation of the world’s girls, intrinsically motivating them to fight back against gender inequality, leading by example
Mustary had previously visited AUW in March 2019, in order to conduct preliminary interviews with selected AUW students from the CDIP office (AUW’s international office). After expanding the Mai Soli Foundation Mentorship Program to over twenty AUW student volunteers, from just a handful of young women, the Mentorship Program cohort was fully formed for the Pilot Program.
The Mentorship Program
The Mai Soli Foundation Mentorship Program is a prestigious opportunity to that enables mentors to take an active role working towards dramatically reducing child marriage and gender equality. The mentors are at the front lines and serve as the faces of the organization, traveling to partnered schools once a week, for a full calendar year. There, they teach the curricula, act as true mentors, facilitate cohort sessions, and hold one-on-one meetings with the girls. But these mentors are not selected simply on the basis of enrollment at AUW or a strong resume. In order to become a Mai Soli Foundation Mentor, a young woman must be referred by a current mentor, submit an application, and sit through an interview with the Executive Team. Looking forwards, after the success of their Pilot Launch, Mai Soli Foundation is looking for the next generations of mentors, as the foundation further expands throughout Bangladesh, Nepal, and Guatemala.
During each day of the MTP, the mentors were guided through a number of activities, both in and out of the curriculum, improving not only their mentorship and coaching skills, but their bond to each other as a mentor cohort. This was complemented by training on how to deliver the curricula while simultaneously instilling confidence in their own cohorts. Throughout the long days and sessions, Mai Soli Foundation provided the mentor cohort with refreshments, chai, and substantial breakfasts and lunches from the delicious restaurant, The Biryani House, a local restaurant and staple of the community. At the end of each day, detailed feedback surveys were sent out to those participating, so Aria and Aaron could properly tailor the experience for the coming days, however the results were overwhelmingly positive throughout. These intelligent and engaged mentors developed a genuine and strong bond with Aria and Aaron throughout the process, referring to them as “their mentors” and considering themselves Aria and Aaron’s mentees because of how much they learned and grew together.
Getting things moving
As of the last week of January 2020, the mentors who participated in the MTP have started their weekly visits to their designated schools in Salimpur and Chittagong. Each mentor was assigned to a group of ten young girls from Class 9 or Class 10 that they will be working with until the end of the calendar year, developing a connection with them like Aria and Aaron had with their mentor cohort. There, they will leverage their growing connection to deliver the content in a way that resonates best with their cohort, and skillfully guide the girls to build their confidence and self-worth, while simultaneously giving them skills to show their economic value to their communities.
While Aria, Aaron, and the rest of the Mai Soli Foundation team see the MTP as a success, there is still a great deal of work to be done. Throughout the next year, the team will be working closely with the mentors every step of the way, through both communications and their local Regional Director, Nipa Das. This year is the key to putting all of their research into action, but more importantly, to show both Bangladesh and the world that an investment in a woman is as good as one in a man. With the success of this program, they will show that girls are more than wives and mothers, they are the key to our future, and all we need to do is give them the tools they need to change the world. For more information, go to http://maisoli.foundation/
