WITED – KENYACOAST POLYTECHNIC CHAPTER

BLUEPRINT (2012)

MEANING OF WITED

WITED is an acronym for “Women in Technical Education and Development”. WITED seeks to foster women participation in science and technology since this domain is top priority to any modern national development plan.

GENESIS OF WITED

  • WITED is a project conceptualized by the Commonwealth Association of Polytechnics in Africa (CAPA) in reaction to the observed exceedingly low participation of women in science and technical education in its member institutions. CAPA embarked on this project in 1988. However in Kenya WITED has not been vibrant. COL has been instrumental in revival of WITED and spearheading establishment of WITED Chapters by providing guidance and creating a networking forum in INVEST AFRICA-CLN. The WITED-Mombasa TTI (Kenya coast Polytechnic) Chapter was started in March, 2012 and launched in October 2012. This was the first WITED Chapter in Kenya. We plan to collaborate and work with other existing and up-coming WITED Chapters in Kenya, Africa and beyond.

AIM

The WITED project is aimed at identifying and demystifying the factors which impede female participation in technical education, training and employment.

OBJECTIVE

The long term objective of the project is to enhance the participation of women in Technical Education at all levels for economic empowerment and achievement of vision 2030.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

  1. To find out the reason why women/girls are not involved or have not ventured in Science and Technical Courses.
  2. To create awareness about the available opportunities within the Technical career path.
  3. To encourage girls/women to develop the interest to pursue the Science and Technical courses.
  4. To sensitize women and girls on the benefits of pursuing the Technical career path.
  5. To reach out to the less privileged women in the informal sector with the aim of engaging them in Technical Education and Technical paths for economic empowerment.

THE WITED GOAL

A team of women teachers in Mombasa Technical Training Institute have decided to go beyond the call of duty, work together to reach out to the less privileged and girls and women in the society offering to them what they never thought was possible in life (technical skills). Women technical teachers as role models need to be at the forefront in encouraging other women and girls into pursuing relevant education. Education for women need not only be of good quality but also relevant in order to benefit the women-folk to be self-reliant hence uplifting themselves, their families and communities economically.

The WITED SPIRIT

  1. Going beyond the call of duty to reach out to the less privileged girls and women and liberate the forgotten talents.
  2. To demonstrate love, appreciation and recognition to fellow women/girls.
  3. Inspiring girls /women through success stories from role models.
  4. Advocating for women rights to education and economic empowerment
  5. Participate in the social and moral duty of saving girls/women from crime, immorality, drugs, unemployment, despair, poverty and desperation.
  6. The supportive spirit to fellow women/girls.

TARGET GROUP

  1. School leavers
  2. Women in the informal sector including vegetable vendors, commercial sex workers, security guards, hawkers, public transport personnel, house wives and house helps.
  3. Unemployed women

WITED ACTIVITIES

  1. Participating in education for girls /women campaigns
  2. Organizing for awareness and sensitization forums for women leaders, policy makers, school heads and career teachers, men/husbands, parents/ guardians, women and men teachers to support girls and women’s enrolment in science and technical education.
  3. Advocating for science and technical education through:
  4. Engaging women in the informal sector face-to –face, through the internet and mass media.
  5. Visits to schools, places of worships and social meetings to encourage and counsel girls.
  • Inviting girls to technical training institutes and polytechnics for career motivational talks and to interact with role models.
  1. Workshops for heads and career teachers of girls’ schools.
  2. Addressing teachers’ conference to influence decisions.
  3. Production of career booklets for circulation to girls’ schools.
  4. Intervention with technical institutions and government authorities to secure greater enrolment for women in technical training institutes and polytechnics.
  5. Advocating for non-traditional roles for women using the mass media, internet and live campaigns.
  6. Intervention with government ministries concerned and employers to secure favorable employment conditions for women in industrial establishments.
  7. Marshal for resources to maintain and sustain WITED project activities.

WITED COMMITTEE MEMBERS

  1. Anne Polly K.K. Nyamoko    – Coordinator
  2.  Eunice Nderitu                       – WITED  Secretary
  3.  Michael Nyaga                       -Ass, Coordinator
  4. Rose Nyawanda – Ass. Secretary
  5. Duncan Akidiva -Technical Head
  6. David Jaoko                           -Ass. Technical Head
  7. Mwanahawa Hussein             – WITED Treasurer
  8. Pauline Kabui -Head of Marketing

NB: Membership can be changed or improved when deemed necessary.

WITED will collaborate and co-ordinate with the following Offices/officers/teams in MTTI;

  1. Internally ;
  2. The chief Principal and Management(BOG)
  3. Deputy Principal
  4. Registrar
  5. Dean of Students
  6. Industrial Liaison Officer and coordinators
  7. Heads of Departments and Sections
  8. Performance Contract Coordinator and PC Team
  9. FaB Team
  10. Gender and Disability committee
  11. Guidance and counseling
  12. All interested and supportive members of MTTI
  13. Students
  14. b) Externally;
  15. External collaborators including COL,INVEST Africa/FSD Team, CAPA etc
  16. Other collaborators, sponsors and stakeholders.