Mentors of All Seasons: Let the Youth Lead
By Annabel Mumba
Annabel Mumba is AEP’s Donor Relations Coordinator in Zambia. She is a Scholarship Fund recipient, high school graduate, and also one of our Success Stories.
January is recognized as National Mentoring Month. Creating a culture of mentorship at AEP's Learning and Leadership Center in Kafue (Amos Youth Centre) has long been a priority. Here is a look at how the Mwalii Leaders have embraced mentorship and how it continues to be celebrated and instilled in the youth that are in AEP’s Nyali Scholarship Program.
Mentoring is a known strategy for positive youth development and as a deterrent of risky behavior. Academic mentoring has shown to improve test scores and the success of students. But the role of a mentor is unique, as it speaks to a relationship that is grounded not only in love, but also in common purpose and with an eye to the future.
“I always consider my mentoring as a two-way process from which I can learn a lot and inspire people as the experience enriches both the mentor and the mentee. Sometimes we mentor people even without realizing it. I have learnt enormously from my mentees.”
Mentors are not simply friends to the young people, nor are they simply “authority figures.” They show up to these relationships with purpose and a desire to help that young person explore possibilities, have conversations of learning and healing, set a course for their future, and overcome any challenges that pop up along the way. Because this is a complex role to play, there are skills and approaches mentors may need to bring to a mentoring relationship to enable that young person to get what they need from the experience.
AEP’s College Prep Program is the next step for every high school graduate in AEP’s Scholarship Program who has a desire to go to college or university. It is here where our high school graduates formally become mentors as they learn to “give back” and volunteer at AEP’s learning and leadership center as well as in the local community. They also have an opportunity to become student teachers in a subject matter that they have excelled in or lead one of AEP’s many clubs. As they enter college or university, they continue to come back to our center during their breaks and continue the mentoring relationship with their younger peers. Jack, a third year student at the Zambia Information Technology College, shared his experience about what being a mentor means to him.
“Mentoring has helped me to realize the importance of sharing knowledge, as the saying goes, ‘knowledge shared is knowledge multiplied.’ I have come to see the trust and collaboration that is created as a result of sharing knowledge. My favorite part of mentoring is to see that my mentee is grasping the knowledge I have shared and showing impressive improvement in performance or behavior.”
AEP’s holistic program continues to succeed because of the mentoring that is embedded throughout the leadership development curriculum. These young people are mentoring their younger peers at the center not only academically but in their overall journey.
Another opportunity offered to our young people is shown in our different partnerships where our youth receive guidance. Gold Youth, for example, is mobilizing thousands of youth at grassroots organizations to be positioned and equipped as agents of social change. It is an evidence-based youth peer education model in disenfranchised schools and communities with proven results in social behavior change, education and job creation. AEP’s youth are trained to go to the local secondary schools as peer educators. Peer education is based on the reality that people not only make changes based on what they know but on the opinions and actions of their trusted peers.
For many years AEP’s different staff members have been the “known” mentors to the many young leaders. They tirelessly poured into the many young people that flocked through the doors of the center every day in every aspect of self-development, career development, confidence and self-esteem building. The Mwalii Leaders continue to become a generation of young mentors both to their peers and the younger boys and girls in the program. Being a mentor for these young high school graduates and alumni goes beyond the feeling of ‘giving back.‘ It is a lifetime investment that builds the Banja or family and brings so much satisfaction to them.
In partnership with Gold Youth, AEP Mwalii Leaders are trained as peer educators in the local secondary schools.
“The vision I have for AEP is to see more mentors of all ages. From the time they come into our program as a Mbewe (seed) to the time they become Banja (family), I would like to see them build each other up along with the entire community of Kafue.”
For AEP’s young Mwalii Leaders, becoming mentors to the younger students continues to impact their lives too. For some, it has increased their confidence and self-esteem and improved their leadership skills.
Bernard, a high school graduate in AEP’s Scholarship Program and a fifth year medical student at the University of Zambia, has mentored the younger students for more than 6 years. He is always encouraging his fellow mentors to really put effort into the job and reminds them of the importance of mentoring. He describes the interaction not as a duty since it is a requirement of the College Prep Program, but something he enjoys doing.
“Mentoring someone gives me a new sense of excitement, inspiration and new energy. It gives me an opportunity to support and encourage the other person’s ingeniousness and efforts to work hard while achieving their intended dreams and purposes. I always find joy in talking to energetic and differently gifted young people when I help them discover their potential. I am what I am today because someone mentored me. I always remember my science teacher and mentor in high school who would tell me that I can do anything I wanted to as long as I put my mind to it. AEP’s mentors played a huge role in my development and I want to do the same for my young brothers and sisters,” he shared.
Loveness, a recent high school graduate who is in the College Prep Program and spending her gap year mentoring the Grade 8 students in English, says that it is because of the different mentors at AYC that she can stand as a mentor today. She is happy to give back and help the younger students achieve their goals too.
Nebat Mwaanga is AEP’s Information & Communications Technology teacher who has expressed what an amazing job the Mwalii Leaders are doing as mentors. “As a teacher myself I feel proud to witness the power that these mentors are giving (to) the young boys and girls in our program. I have seen a lot of change from the time they took the lead in talking to them about the importance of coming to the center, being active and producing good results.”
Many AEP staff feel that same joy. Annie is another young mentor and a dedicated staff member who works with the Read for Rose Special Education Program. She expressed how happy the special education students become when the student teachers visit and take time to interact with them. The students work extra hard knowing they have a mentor who inspires them and we are excited to bring inclusive learning experiences to our children with the most need.
Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others. —Jack Welch
Students in AEP’s Read for Rose Special Education Program are mentored by the Mwalii Leaders too!