Mentoring
Mentoring is a way to build a meaningful relationship with a vulnerable person who lacks a positive role model in their life. It is an enriching experience for both Mentors and Mentees. Mentoring comes naturally to many of us.
Mentoring can make a big difference in a person’s life. Through the mentoring relationship, a mentee develops the self-esteem and confidence so essential for personal growth, development, and resiliency. Mentoring enables a person to face social, emotional and learning challenges. In a culture that promotes rampant consumerism and instant gratification vulnerable persons feel bereft at their lack of means, social skills, basic skills and enabling relations with others. Persons who would benefit from being matched with a mentor are those who:
Volunteer Mentors can provide such persons with:
Mentors are persons Mentees can definitely rely on for support. They are there when their Mentees needs them to turn to when they:
As a Volunteer Mentor, one has the opportunity to:
Volunteer Mentoring provides an important opportunity to reach out and touch an individual’s life.
Activities that Mentors and their Mentees can enjoy together include the following:
Mentoring can make a big difference in a person’s life. Through the mentoring relationship, a mentee develops the self-esteem and confidence so essential for personal growth, development, and resiliency. Mentoring enables a person to face social, emotional and learning challenges. In a culture that promotes rampant consumerism and instant gratification vulnerable persons feel bereft at their lack of means, social skills, basic skills and enabling relations with others. Persons who would benefit from being matched with a mentor are those who:
- lack nurture and unconditional love;
- suffer from low-self-esteem (believe that they are good for nothing, unintelligent and unskilled);
- harbour anger at a society that repeatedly fails them and adopt self-destructive tendencies (self-harm; drug taking; sexual liaisons from a very young age);
- develop a self-fulfilling prophecy about being unworthy of love and respect.
Volunteer Mentors can provide such persons with:
- a ‘special’ supportive, loving-kind friendship,
- unconditional acceptance,
- respect and love,
- guidance,
- coaching for skills acquisition,
- help with putting things into perspective ,
- a sounding board regarding making right decisions in life.
Mentors are persons Mentees can definitely rely on for support. They are there when their Mentees needs them to turn to when they:
- needs friendship and companionship;
- has questions to discuss and find answers to;
- needs direction;
- is experiencing personal troubles;
- needs to acquire skills that a mentees amply have.
As a Volunteer Mentor, one has the opportunity to:
- Provide a vulnerable person with the example they need to take the right path in life;
- Pass on important life lessons,
- Teach the Mentee the value of respect, truthfulness and responsibility,
- Teach the Mentee the importance of maintaining boundaries,
- Share loving-kindness and concern.
Volunteer Mentoring provides an important opportunity to reach out and touch an individual’s life.
Activities that Mentors and their Mentees can enjoy together include the following:
- Cooking;
- Outing to spaces & places the Mentee has never visited;
- Hiking,
- Talking,
- Dress-making,
- Seeing a film together & discussing it,
- Going out for a snack,
- Practicing English conversation.
- Going out to a Charity shop to hunt for a bargain dress or outfit.