Mentorship

Establishing and operating effective mentorship programmes for migrant CYP

While many different forms of mentoring programmes exist worldwide, research has identified some key areas as critical to establishing and operating an effective mentorship programme for migrant CYP; for example:

• Having a clear strategy for mentor recruitment and matching mentors and mentees.
• Mentors (and ideally parents/guardians and mentees) each participate in extensive training before matching.
• Mentors receive training in trauma-informed care.
• Strong and consistent support is essential for mentors, with clear explanations of roles and boundaries and flexible approaches to problem solving.
• Clear guidelines for the roles and responsibilities of mentors, mentees and the lead organisation.
• Mentors and mentees meet for at least two hours per week for a minimum of six months but ideally at least one year. The longer the duration of the match the greater the impact as it takes time and persistence to develop trust, become familiar with each other and establish a strong connection.
• Mentors and mentees spend time identifying and working toward agreed-on goals that are documented and updated.
• Programme staff provide regular check-ins and support to parents/guardians, mentees, and mentors.
• Programme staff provide referrals for further assistance for mentees and their parents/guardians as needed.
• Mentors focus on relationship building – they take the time to develop trust, get to know their mentees and create a nurturing environment.
• Mentors take responsibility for the relationship, are consistent, persistent and dependable.
• Mentorship programmes have a clear inbuilt process for monitoring, learning and evaluation.
• Utilising bicultural-bilingual mentors may enhance mental health and well-being outcomes for CYP.
• Longer-term funding is needed for community organisations to be capable of providing long-lasting programmes that can create long-term change for CYP.

A spotlight on safeguarding

Every mentoring programme for migrant CYP must prioritise the safety and well-being of participants. Strong safeguarding policies must be in place and activated in practice. This requires clear and practical codes of conduct that are monitored, and accessible and transparent reporting and response mechanisms. In practice this means that:

• Potential safeguarding risks are identified, and mitigation strategies developed.
• Mentors and mentees understand acceptable conduct and know how to seek support in case of any concerns.
• Safeguarding focal points know how to receive and respond to concerns and disclosures.

Mentoring in practice

The MINT project, delivered by Terre des Hommes (TdH) and partners in Europe, aims to empower refugee and migrant children, as well as European youth, to engage in new integration activities. Through support from Child to Child, an innovative and replicable mentoring model was developed with the goal of ensuring that children and young people residing in the targeted host countries in Europe are successfully integrated in their host societies. As part of this EU-funded project, partners work in Romania, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovenia to support and facilitate the integration of children, enhance social relations, and empower both local youth and child migrants.

Migrants – especially migrant children – can face a myriad of risks before, during and after the journey. It is daunting to have to adjust to a new country when you are traumatised, homesick, alone and scared. Recognising those needs and challenges, the MINT project aims to contribute to the successful integration of child migrants in the EU, by enabling them to fulfil their full potential in their host countries.

Mentoring has proven to be an effective way to share knowledge, increase children's social and emotional skills, and promote integration, giving young people the tools and support that they need. One component of the MINT project involves matching recently arrived children with youth volunteers with the aim of providing support, advice, and mentorship in order to facilitate easier integration.

The mentoring methodological framework developed draws upon existing good practices and guidelines to provide information about:

• Mentoring as a process, and different possible approaches.
• How to design a mentoring programme, including setting parameters and selecting participants.
• How to implement mentoring in practice, including guidelines for mentors.
• Relevant cross-cutting considerations such as facilitating meaningful child participation, ensuring gender equity and embedding cultural sensitivity.
• Useful links to more resources and sample forms to use in projects.

Access the full resource for mentoring migrant children here: childtochild.org.uk

Real time learning: The MINT programme created a community of practice where project partners shared learning throughout the design, implementation and evaluation phases of the mentorship programme. Monthly meetings were held in which partners were able to share implementation experiences, as well as the challenges that were outlined at the mid-term review stage.