Mentorship through mentors serves as both a preventive and responsive child and teen protection strategy.
On the preventive side of the coin, the journey that a mentor commits to undertake through mentoring will provide valuable information and practical strategies in sharpening the mentee to guard their actions.
In looking at the responsive side, it is an effective antidote that is employed to positively counter the negative consequences of uninformed actions and reduce further associated risks.
In the context of AMEN’s humanitarian interventions, this helps children and teens stay safe, build resilience, access support where necessary and transition successfully into adulthood.
Cognizant of our target beneficiaries (teen moms, pregnant adolescents and rehabilitated former street boys), it is imperative that mentorship takes a more intentional and focused lens.
These beneficiaries come from unique backgrounds, needing a lot of care and empathy in helping them overcome the obstacles they face as they transition to make meaning in their journeys from teens to adults.
In zooming in through what mentorship can accomplish, we can note the following few pointers;
- It is an avenue for providing safe and trusted relationships to seek guidance and support. This translates to building resilience and coping skills to deal with the challenges of life through building confidence, self-esteem and character. This has often led to breaking human barriers and ceilings.
- Helps in identifying early signs of abuse, exploitation, emotional distress or school dropout cases. This encourages school retention, educational attainment and goal setting for future planning.
- Increases awareness of children’s rights, personal safety, sexual reproductive health rights and reduces vulnerability to child marriage.
- Empowers children and adolescents to become active participants in their own protection and development. This further contributes to the development of responsible, empowered and productive young citizens. It gives hope when someone walks the journey with you and helping to celebrate the wins.
- Reinforces community engagement in strengthening child and teen protection systems and legal frameworks across the communities.
- Building genuine human connections is a positive preventive and responsive measure. Through sharing of life’s challenges, the mentee realizes that the challenges they go through need not be the end of the road for them. It is powerful that trust ignites motivation in individuals.
- It revives the spirit of service to both the mentor and mentee. This translates to the caterpillar to butterfly effect. Witnessing another person grow due to your positive impact is fulfilling.
AMEN offers mentorship to our beneficiaries as more of a commitment to inspiring lives, public shaping discourses and providing an avenue where beneficiaries recognize they are valued individuals in the society.