One of the Reasons We Love Mentoring

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

In the course of spending a lot (LOTS!) of time with all the kids downtown, Adam and I have come to realize that mentoring is really the best way to make a difference in their lives. In fact, together with Metro Kidz, Adam has launched a mentoring program for Vision Atlanta. So far, there are 4 kids being mentored by former counselors.

After church on Sunday, we went out for lunch with one of these mentors (Arielle), the girl she is mentoring (Arnesha), and the girl's two brothers. Arnesha is twelve, but looks at least sixteen. She spends most of her time taking care of her two youngest brothers who are two and three years old. Sitting there watching Arnesha talk to Arielle, grinning and giggling shyly, I was struck by the thought that this mentoring thing really works!

Of course, we DID already know that. Why else would we be leaving a full-time, steady job to cultivate the mentoring program? (oh yeah, have I mentioned that yet?) Adam and I are so passionate about mentoring for so many reasons. We love (LOVE!) camp, but also know that one week every summer is not necessarily enough to create lasting change that can be sustained in an environment that is difficult to say the least. That's why Adam is starting/developing the mentoring program as a follow-up to camp.

For many of these kids, one of the biggest obstacles they face is a decided lack of positive role models. The females they see are usually young, single, unemployed mothers living off welfare. The males they encounter are mostly drug dealers and absent fathers. As a result, these kids don't know any other way to grow up. They can't see the possibilities, they don't recognize their potential. Many times all they need is someone to point out another way of living, and someone who will support them and guide them towards a new destination: one that doesn't involve drugs, violence or welfare.

Adam has been mentoring Saviour (aka Sabo - I've told you about him before). Just a few weeks ago, I was struck by how far he has come since we first met him. You want to know why? Don't worry, I'll tell you . . . but this post is already entirely too long and I'm all 'written out' for today. Hopefully tomorrow fresh eyes and words will make it easier for me to tell the story in a way that doesn't involve entirely too many details and rambling side notes and boring, unnecessary information like this post is starting to have . . .
Posted by Becca at 8:13 AM
Labels: mentoring, Vision Atlanta