how i help young people see their awesomeness

Table talk: regular meetups are key to a successful mentor/mentee relationship

By Jane, KRAN volunteer mentor (and more!)

When a callout for volunteer mentors at KRAN was circulated to me at work, I knew immediately that this was what I wanted to do, not least because of my core values of fairness, equality and humanity. 

I worked for Canterbury Museums and Galleries and had met some lovely staff and young people from KRAN when they came to visit the museum. Learning more about the organisation affected me deeply and I felt that these young people deserved some support and encouragement when there are a lot of negative and hostile opinions stacked against them. As a former nurse, Fine Art graduate and parent of two young men, I thought I might have something to offer the organisation and young people.

I have now been volunteering for three years and have been a mentor to three young people and continue to do this. I also became involved with art education and have supported and delivered creative activities with the teachers. I am now a regular volunteer teaching assistant and also support various activities, including the relaxed Friday drop-in sessions.

I recognise how overwhelming living in a new country is in itself, let alone the circumstances that these young people have to cope with. Ultimately any young person needs support and encouragement in their education, life choices, learning, interests and finding their confidence. I try to help them with this.

It has huge benefits for me as well as I was determined to take advantage of my more flexible retirement years in a positive way.
Through meeting and working with many young people from different countries, I have become so much more educated and understanding of their difficulties.

I have certainly recognised many things I have taken for granted and I am in awe of what the young people do and achieve. I think an important part of what I do is helping them see that awesomeness! Among the other things I have learned is a love of football! Seeing it through the eyes of our young people changed my perspective to the positive sides of the game. 

I have also challenged myself to learn Arabic and my aim is to get GCSE. I believe one should never stop challenging oneself and It’s never too late to do something new. I now have a new mantra - If these young people can do it, then so can I!