Mentoring Challenge

Peer Mentors rounded up their final activities for 2014 and feedback forms collected to assess and recommend new ways to enrich the programme.

In the mentoring challenge, young peer Mentors are mobilized, trained and mandated to further step-down their experience and knowledge to secondary school girls, and also engage in community renewal. The Contenders in the challenge, alongside a team of volunteers train girls in areas including peer pressure, career planning, relating with parents, dealing with issues of domestic violence, molestation and rape, among other tasks.The Mentoring challenge is endorsed and supported the United States Embassy in Lagos.

Key Findings

• Strong bonds between the peer mentors and students substantiated by interviews, photographs and focus group discussions
• 75% of young girls (in participating secondary schools) have grown from this Mentoring Challenge project to initiate and achieve successful pay-forward activities within their schools.

o   65% of them launched successful pay-forward initiatives –by sharing their experience with other classmates/family

o   10% launched successful pay-forward initiatives –by organizing mini-projects within their schools including hand-washing projects, litter collection, clearing of clogged gutters and cleaning of the school refectory.

• 98% percentage of young girls express satisfaction for having met their peer mentor through the project and accomplished milestones in their personal development
• 65% of the schools have initiated mentoring clubs to grow the reach and impact of the project.
• More than 90% of all the peer mentors say that they would mentor again and would recommend mentoring to a friend/colleague. Their experience confirmed their expectation of a rewarding experience
• Nine out of ten mentors feel that they emerged as better persons, increased patience, friendship, a feeling of effectiveness, new listening skills.
• Peer Mentors were asked what they liked best in the Mentoring Challenge; virtually all could name a positive aspect of the experience.
• 100% of mentees engaged in diverse-categories of pay forward initiatives/activities.
• 100% of mentees name at least one problem they believe was improved due to the Mentoring Challenge cycle, and many cite more than one.
• More than 60 external mentors/mentees/students and panel discussants participated in 2014 associated events [mentors, mentees, panel discussants, facilitators, university students, and mentoring walk participants in several locations.

 Changes in the original staffing pattern for the project:

We had to employ the skills and services of some ad-hoc volunteers during the preparation and delivery of this programme, to complement the work of our staff.

Once again, Idea Builders Initiative and its Team say a great big 'Thank you' to our donors for supporting and encouraging us in our mission for the girls in our society.

Please invite your family and friends to donate and give us feedback on our reports so far to enable us improve and implement better strategies to achieve our Organizational Vision: A Society of Women Leading Lives of Choice.