Kaka is Swahili for brother. TechKaka is the men's empowerment track at Learning Lions: a circle of men explorers, trainees, Lions and staff, led by men who came through the programme. It runs alongside the three levels, not inside any one of them, and every man on the programme is in it from his first day.
Why It Exists
- Men on the programme are told to be strong and are rarely asked how they are. The hours are long, the money is short and the pressure from home is real. Most men carry it alone, and that is where it goes wrong.
- The way a man treats the women he works with decides the kind of workplace he builds. TechKaka is where respect is practised, not just promised.
- A man who leads by teaching, not by taking, is the Lion the programme wants to send out. Local leadership is one of the values, carried in week seven of BootCamp.
What TechKaka Offers
- The circle. Men meet as a group, with no trainer grading in the room, to talk straight about the work, the pressure, money, family and what comes next. Where and how often is set with each cohort.
- A big brother. Every man on the programme can ask for a mentor: a Lion or a staff member who has walked the road ahead of him. Ask the Cohort Captain or any man on the welfare team.
- Mental health, said out loud. The check-in routine from PP6 is the floor: three signals of your own, a person you talk to at red, a rest block in the week plan. The circle is a place to say that a signal is showing.
- Standing with the sisters. TechKaka backs TechDada: at outreach, in the room when turns are taken, and when something said about a woman is not acceptable. An ally is a man who says so.
- Your own record. Time given to the circle, to mentoring and to outreach goes on your Career Map as evidence, like any other work.
What You Can Count On
- The seven promises from orientation hold for everyone, every day: two adults, no private digital contact, no leverage, no romantic or sexual contact between staff and learners, no shouting or humiliation, no photos without asking, no gifts or loans. If someone with power over you breaks a rule, the rule is still on your side.
- You can ask for a coach or a trainer of your own gender for any private conversation, and the answer is yes.
- Asking for help is not weakness and is never held against you. Nobody on staff will tell a man to toughen up instead of listening.
- Reporting is never punished. Sauti Yangu takes a report with your name or without it.
Getting Help
If something is wrong, or you are not sure whether it is, start with Safety and Welfare: the people on campus, the numbers that work from any phone, and how to report.
How to Take Part
- Come to the circle. Nobody is marked for being there or not being there.
- Ask for a mentor whenever you want one, and say if the match is not right.
- Put your hand up for outreach, for leading the ritual, for teaching a peer.
- If you are a Lion or a staff member and want to mentor, tell the welfare team.
The rhythm of the circle, who leads it and how mentors are matched are being settled with the current cohort and the men among the alumni.