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Mentorship Programme

at St Benedits R.C. Primary School

In 2002, a group o individuals

comprising young proessional menand university students met to discuss

the creation o a mentorship programme

geared towards underprivileged children.

Ater much deliberation it was agreed

to name the initiative the GoodStart

Mentorship Programme. In March

2004, the blue print or this project was

nalised, but much still needed to be

done or the realisation o the initiative.

However it was only in mid 2004 that

the group decided to actualise the initiativewhich was then aimed at primary school

children ranging rom ages 7 to 14 years

coming rom underprivileged areas in

Trinidad and Tobago. Our aim was to make

a meaningul contribution to the needy

children especially those most in need o

direction and support. The main operational

dynamic o the programme is to engage

university students in mentoring children on

a one-on-one basis. The mentoring process

ocuses mainly on academics with special

interest in the subject areas o Language

Arts, and Mathematics, as well as allowing

participation in team sports such as cricket

and ootball. All activities are seen as vital to

the transmission o high ideals and values

to the children. In addition to these core

activities the mentors and their protgsengage in other activities which build rapport

and assist in developing the relationship

between the pair. These activities include

outings to museums, to movie premieres,

2004-2009GoodStart

and even to the UWI Campus, etc. The

exposure to dierent environments is o

great importance in building relationships

based on respect, trust and honesty.

Ater clariying the mentorship

programmes philosophy and the denition

o its project plan, we all agreed that the

undamental task o mentors was to be

positive role models or the children;

enabling them to develop human virtues as

a consequence o their riendship. Thereore,

GoodStart however, had to create an

adequate training programme or its mentors.

In order or the success o this venture

we needed to identiy the necessary

resources, or example, prospective

mentors and trainers, a primary school

in an underprivileged area and most o

all prospective mentees. Ater which we

proceeded to select material based on the

curriculum which the children were required

to ollow, and then to structure the time o the

mentoring sessions, as well as the evaluation

o the whole process, among others.

As mentioned above, a mentor should be

a role model or his mentee so that in doing

so the child would learn rom his mentor,

developing an enhanced construct o how

one should develop. Children learn rom

the way mentors commit themselves in

supporting them, and as a result mentor and

mentee walk together through challenges

and difculties experienced. Thus, the

need to equip mentors with adequate

training is essential. Most o the people

involved in the designing o the training

programme agreed that it is crucial that

such a training programme be ounded on

human virtues in order to assist mentors

to get to know themselves, internalise

these virtues and then transmit them to

their mentees. In so doing, mentors assist

children in their character development. It

GoodStarts goal is to getour mentees to aspire to ahigher education, to bettertheir lives and to becomeexemplary members of

their communities.

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From the very inception we were

privileged to welcome

UWI students as mentors and some

UWI lecturers are programme trainers.

From the inception we wereprivileged to welcome some UWI

lecturers as programme trainers:

Mr. Clyde Abder (Eng.), Mr.

Surendra Arjoon (Soc Sci); others

as the principal o St Benedicts

Mrs. Joan Fulchan and Mr. Norman

Tang rom Bryden; and other

older mentors: Josh Dayton (Soc

Sci), Gerard Pounder (Eng.), Peter

Seignoret (Med Sci) and Romulo

Guedez (Hum & Edu), responsible

or passing on their mentoring

experience to the new mentors.

Many mentors visit mentees

homes, meet with their parents

and relatives in order to better

learn and assist them with their

needs. For instance, in 2007 many

mentors participating in the You

Can Help project, a North Halls

social initiative, volunteered

their abilities in the building o

one o the mentees home in

St. Michael Village. During the

Christmas period o 2007 and

2008, many mentors contributed

to the purchase o toys and to the

distribution o ood hampers to the

mentees and their relatives. Every

Saturday aternoon, rom January

2009 to March 2009, another group

o mentors prepared Standard 5

students or the SEA exam aterwhich, they spent some time

playing a game o cricket or

ootball together. We can proudly

say that these mentors succeeded

in assisting the children and

thus the mentees had great

results in their SEA examinations.

We have learned a great

deal over these years and we

have realised that the mentors

commitment, the parents andteachers support are key to the

childrens development and

success. Children are always

willing to achieve academic and

human development once they

have support. Mentors have

to nd ways to convey difcult

topics to children as Josh Drayton

commented in one o the training

sessions: I use a simple sheet with

the letters o the alphabet to do a

two-old exercise: checking to see

whether the mentee recognises

the letters and i he knows their

sounds. That usually helps us in

being able to identiy where the

ault is. I there is a ault then we

need to start there. I usually get

them to blow out a sound and

say the letter. For example: o

by shaping their mouth to the

sound, it helps them to recognise

the link better how you put yourmouth to the sound o the words.

s also a journey where they get to

know themselves as well. The training

programme also includes directives

o support mentors in dealing with

heir mentees, and also in managing

heir time with responsibility.

Ater having identied a primary

chool which would meet these

criteria that we set, we decided to

tart on July 8th 2004. We met with

he principal o St Benedicts R.C.Primary School, Mrs. Joan Fulchan,

who selected 8 mentees who

were the rst participants in the

programme. On September 15th

2004, mentors and parents met at the

chool. It was not an easy task as only

hree mentors committed to attend

every Thursday aternoon session.

In October 2005 a group o UWI

tudents joined the programme

among them were: ChristopherCastagne (Eng.), Sanjiv Samaroo

Eng.), Daley Sirjuensingh (Eng.),

osh Drayton (Soc Sci), Joel Castagne

Eng.), Sheldon Bowman (Eng.), and

Corey Jackman (Eng.). A ew months

ater, Christopher Lum Kin (Nat Sci),

Kevin Singh (Nat Sci), and Jameon

Thomas (Eng.) joined the programme.

Over the years more UWI students

have taken part in the programme:

Anning Hoo (Eng.), Vickash Ramoutar

Eng.), Andrei Edoo (Soc Sci), Stephan

Samuell (Nat Sci), Nick Ali (Soc Sci),

Leon Henry (Soc Sci), Chike Wilson

Soc Sci), Naresh Parahoo (Nat Sci),

Ravi Rajah (Law Sch), and Hector

Williams (Nat Sci). Every academic

year GoodStart engages with a new

contingent o enthusiastic mentors

and mentees eager to make a

dierence in pursuit o its stated goals.

And yes, its also un or themsince they would be actively

engaged in making noise.

Today, ve years ater

the launch o the GoodStart

Mentorship Programme, we

still continue to accept the

accompanying challenges. We

eel proud o the number o UWI

students who have participated

and particularly the St Benedicts

children who have benetedrom the programme. We have

witnessed the birth o another

mentorship programme as well.

For the academic year 2009-2010

we look orward to meeting more

university students committed to

volunteering their time and skills

to support these mentorship

programmes. We have gained

more expertise through the

years and compiled educational

material to assist our task.

However, Trinidad and Tobago is

still in dire need o much social

work. Young people according

to St. Josemara Escriv, have

always had a great capacity or

enthusiasm, or big things, or

high ideals, or everything that

is genuine. GoodStarts goal is

to get our mentees to aspire to a

higher education, to better their

lives and to become exemplarymembers o their communities.

For more information about the GoodStart MentorshipProgramme, please contact North Hall at northhall@gmail.com or

call (868) 645-9755, or visit the centre located at 7 Deane St,St Augustine. Trinidad & Tobago, W.I.

GoodStart