Serve through mentorship

BRIGHT Stars – a mentorship programme for vulnerable children – will host an orientation morning where individuals are invited to discover how they can play a role in transforming the life of a child.

Modelled on the hugely successful international mentorship programme Big Brothers Big Sisters, Bright Stars provides ordinary members of the public with a simple way that they can play a powerful role in the transformation of children’s lives.

Statistics show that a child mentored is 53 per cent more likely to engage in school, 32 per cent less likely to engage in violence and 46 per cent less likely to use drugs.

“Fifty per cent of children who register for Grade One do not matriculate. Our mentorship programme pairs an adult mentor with a child and they spend just one hour a week together. This is often all it takes to transform a child’s life and give them hope for the future,” said Ruth dos Santos, Bright Stars programme manager.

Mentorship impacts not only the lives of vulnerable children but also the lives of the adults who mentor them. As such it is now globally recognised to be central to society’s efforts to heal, with massive international efforts in the USA, UK and Australia to implement youth mentorship and bring vulnerable children back to safety.

“We recruit and train our mentors – ordinary members of the public – to walk alongside these children; to care for them and about them so that they can realise their value to society and reach their full potential,” said dos Santos.

Volunteers who are interested in becoming mentors are encouraged to attend an orientation morning where they will be given in-depth information about the programme, what it entails, what to expect and what you as a mentor will get out of the experience. After the orientation, attendees will be given the opportunity to apply to become mentors and attend a full-day training session.

The Bright Stars orientation morning is on Saturday 22 August at Fig Tree Coffee Shop in Umgeni Park.

Interested volunteers can contact Bright Stars on info@peaceagency.org.za about attending. Visit: www.brightstarsmentors.org.za