23 Dec Reaching Goals Through Mentorship

By Menuka Gurung, Wedu Rising Star from Nepal

On November 16, 2013 Wedu organized the very first episode of the Global MentorshipWalk in Bangkok in partnership with Vital Voices. In spite of the rainfall in the morning all the mentors and mentees attended the events with full on energy. After coming to Thailand, the Wedu Mentorship Walk was the first event I attended. Since Wedu has provided me with great mentorship as well as the funding for me to study, it was really a grateful moment for me to meet the amazing Wedu team for the first time.

The Wedu Mentorship Walk was about introducing the young girls (mentees) to inspiring women and men, who can act like a mentor for them. I believe that it is really important to have someone who can guide me, support me, and act like a role model for me.

All the mentees were excited to meet inspiring mentors and get a feel of mentorship that day. All the mentees were female, as well as most of the mentors. There was one male mentor there, but I believe that if we want to empower women, it makes more sense to involve men too. This is because at the end of the day both need to work together, and women should be taking key leadership positions alongside men.

Guide to Realizing Our Aspirations
At the Mentorship Walk, all the mentees were each assigned to one mentor. As all the mentees were engaged with their mentors, the mentors were really supportive and were ready to help. For that day my mentor was Lyn Kok, who is the CEO of Standard Chartered Bank in Thailand, one of the international banks in the country. I was able to have a one-on-one talk with her about our aspirations and ourselves. The fact that she is a working woman who is able to balance her work and family smoothly really inspired me. She asked about my journey from Nepal to Thailand and what my goals and aims are for my life. It is always a great feeling to share your story and dreams with other people. She gave me ideas about how I can get the best out of Thailand by being involved in community work and doing internships. Because we had a short time to talk, we exchanged each other’s email and will try to keep in touch after the event.

A few of the mentors and mentees decided to meet after the Mentorship Walk as well to get to know each other more. Meeting the mentors and hearing their life stories gave all the mentees motivation to be like them. In our busy student lives, sometimes our parents or teachers can’t help us so during that time a mentor can really be helpful to show us the right path, or at the very least to listen to our stories and be there to support us.

Meeting the Mentees
Meeting the mentors and Wedu staff was the best part of the Wedu Mentorship Walk. However, meeting the other mentees was also an equally great experience. It is always a delightful feeling to meet other people who share the same beliefs and thoughts like you. Most of the mentees were undergraduate students who all had the zeal to be change makers in their community. We all exchanged contact information and said we would keep in touch. Since most of us live in Bangkok, it will be easy to communicate with one another.

A Platform for Change Makers
At the end of the Mentorship Walk, a few mentors and mentees were called up to share their impressions about the day. Dr. Sririkorn Maneerin, former Deputy Minister of Education and Public Health, said that she was grateful to be a part of this walk, and was happy to hear stories of the mentees and what they aspire to become in the future. She wanted the Mentorship Walk to be a bit longer so she suggested having this kind of program more often in the future. One of the mentees expressed her gratitude towards all the mentors for coming to the walk and she was really happy with her mentor, Mr. Ariya Banomyong, who is the Country Head of Google Thailand. This was her first time having a mentorship experience and she really liked the experience, as she got a chance to meet an amazing panel of mentors and to be inspired by them.

With the help of all the mentors, mentees, and Wedu staff, the event was a success. With the Mentorship Walk, Wedu gave a platform for all the young girls to connect with awesome people in Thailand, showed them a way to achieve their goals through mentorship, and inspired them to find the change maker in themselves.