A Nine-Year Journey of Growth, Friendship, and Shared Strength
In 2017, a dinner conversation between two tech executives changed the trajectory of a young woman’s life in West Pokot, Kenya. Margo Day, then Vice President of U.S. Education at Microsoft and a mentor at the Global Give Back Circle, had just returned from a trip to West Pokot. Over dinner, she spoke passionately to Diane Lees about the urgent need for mentors. Moved by the stories of young women facing unique challenges, including limited access to education due to financial challenges and harmful cultural practices, Diane signed upto be a mentor immediately.
Diane, who at the time worked for an American distributor of information technology products and services, was drawn to the unknown. While she had experienced business-focused mentorship throughout her career, this was an invitation to build a relationship with a young woman whose world looked nothing like hers. Soon after, she was paired with Eunice Yarasia.
Eunice had completed high school in 2015 and joined the Morpus Rescue Centre in West Pokot for a year. The centre served as a haven, protecting girls from Female Genital Mutilation and forced early marriage while they awaited their next steps in education. While there, through the mentorship program, Eunice received training in computer skills, beadwork, and catering. However, a year later, her future felt stalled when her dream of pursuing medicine was crushed after an unsuccessful college application. “Disappointed, I stayed at home for a year, watching my friends leave for college while I felt my life was lagging. I was miserable and had lost hope,” she recalls. “I didn’t know whether I would have continued with my education after high school.”
At first, the two communicated through regular emails, which eventually transitioned into steady WhatsApp conversations once Eunice got a phone. Diane helped Eunice navigate the heavy disappointment of that closed door. Together, they explored alternatives, and Eunice eventually chose a new path: a three-year diploma in education. Diane sponsored her studies, ensuring Eunice never faced the common fear of being sent home for lack of fees, allowing her to focus entirely on her studies.
In 2018, the two finally met face-to-face in West Pokot when Diane travelled to Kenya. Diane remembers being surprised that Eunice was taller than she had appeared in photos and video calls. Eunice, on the other hand, remembers sitting under a tree in the intense West Pokot heat, worried Diane would be uncomfortable. However, the connection was so immediate that the heat was forgotten.
Over the years, Diane has witnessed a remarkable transformation from that first meeting. “When I met Eunice, she was extremely shy and very quiet,” Diane says. “She has a calm personality, but has just grown incredibly. I have seen her perseverance and strength over the years. She never fails to surprise me, just pushing through all the challenges and hurdles of life.”
Diane watched Eunice progress through her studies, graduate, and become a teacher. She also saw her become a mother; today, Eunice has a son and continues to grow, having enrolled in a degree program in April last year. Eunice reflects, “Diane has always supported and encouraged me throughout. It has been a great journey.”
Their bond has become profoundly reciprocal, transcending the traditional mentor-mentee hierarchy. When Diane’s brother-in-law was ailing from cancer, Eunice was a pillar of support, checking in consistently with encouragement and prayer. “She was always there for me too, as much as I am for her, Diane says.” Diane believes mentorship is rooted in friendship rather than authority, emphasizing the importance of not imposing expectations.
Diane’s belief in the power of mentorship deepened so profoundly. Today, she is the Executive Director of Global Give Back Circle, where she works to expand access to mentorship and scholarships so that more young women can experience this level of support.
Now a teacher in a junior school in West Pokot, Eunice understands what it means to give back. In her classroom, she encounters students facing academic and personal struggles at home. She sees her role as more than teaching lessons; she is a guide for the next generation. “I often encourage the young ones not to lose hope in life,” Eunice says. “Losing hope is not an option. It is a matter of taking one step ahead at a time.”
Eunice and Diane’s story reflects what sustained mentorship can achieve. It is friendship, accountability, and presence through life’s seasons. It is two women choosing, year after year, to show up for each other.