Teens graduate from mentoring programme

SAYes Transition Mentoring in Cape Town this week celebrated 83 mentees who graduated from its 2017 mentoring programme.

Despite facing challenging family and living circumstances, the graduates completed a oneyear SAYes Transition to Independent Living mentoring programme.

“The programme includes weekly meetings with mentors and workshops on topics such as Work and Money, Lifelong Learning and Education, Family and Community, Sport and Recreation, and Citizenship and Identity,” said SAYes spokesperson Caroline Skinner.

Co-founded in 2008 by actress Gillian Anderson of The X-Files, and Michelle Potter, SAYes focuses on providing mentoring for youth in government care who are preparing to transition into life as independent adults.

“The SAYes programme provides a framework and supportive ecosystem of specialised staff and resources to optimise the impact and effectiveness of mentoring,” said Skinner.

Co-founder and executive director Michelle Potter said she was extremely proud of the graduates and commended their courage.

“We are grateful to our volunteer mentors who make the programme possible and are there for their mentees throughout this journey,” she said.

The SAYes programme now wants to put emphasis on the need for mentorship in the country. “At 18, youth in South Africa’s children’s homes age out of government care and must begin to fend for themselves.

“They face complex challenges such as finding and maintaining employment and housing, managing finances and advancing their education. Not to mention, deeply personal obstacles such as developing healthy relationships and maintaining their physical, mental and emotional well-being,” said Skinner.

“There are roughly 350 young people aged 14 to 18 who live in Cape Town children’s homes. The goal of SAYes is to reach all of them, but to do so, the organisation needs more mentors.”

A recent SAYes mentee learnt about cycling from his mentor and eventually trained for the Cape Town Cycle Tour. Another mentee was recently accepted to Stellenbosch University to pursue a career in finance, and another is working at a luxury Cape Town hotel, pursuing her dream of a culinary career.

SAYes is accepting volunteer mentor applications from now until the end of January for the 2018 programme. Call 021 830 0795 or e-mail: volunteer@sayesmentoring.org.