By Anastasiya Gotseva | Program Director
Dear Friends,
Our Mentoring Program had a stunning start!
Let me give you a brief introduction of how it started. After we published the announcement for recruitment of volunteers, till November 2013 we received 80 requests of people who want to work with disadvantaged children and youths and help them acquire knowledge and skills for their independent living. We started with a group of 20 who successfully passed a 3-step process of selection. In December 2013 the pilot group of volunteers passed their initial training for becoming Mentors.
From the beginning of 2014 the matching process started. We made an individual assessment of the necessities of each youngster and defined the field in which support is needed. On this basis we chose the most suitable Mentor for this particular youth.
Currently we have 16 youth-mentor couples working together. They meet at least twice per month and work on specific topic. The first couple of meetings were dedicated to getting know each-other and starting to build mutual trust. Step by step youths supported by the Mentors, started to work towards solving problems in finding job, continuing their education, improving their communication skills, etc.
On 15th March we organized the first joint meeting with the participation of both youngsters and volunteers. This joint meeting gave an opportunity for the participants to get known each other better and also to share their dreams and plans for the future. This was a good base for the upcoming individual work.
Thank you for being the first who supported our Mentoring Program. None of this would be possible without your contribution!
Sincerely yours,
The Step for Bulgaria team
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