Meet the youth mentors helping young people navigate life's big challenges.
Jan Buter is a technician for a local horticulture company. He’s also 13-year-old Leo Hohipa-Taite-Kupa’s mentor and best mate.
Four years ago, Leo’s parents separated and his mother moved to Australia. His siblings split up and went to live with different people.
Leo and Jan were strangers two years ago, but that all changed when they were matched together through youth mentoring programme Big Brothers Big Sisters.
“We match young people between the ages of six and 11 with an older role model,” said Kath Boyd, programme manager of BBBS Hawke’s Bay. “Those role models become what we call mentors, and they spend time with their mentees in the community doing fun activities.”
A mentor is matched with a mentee based on personality, shared interests and geographic location. They meet once a week, for a minimum of one year.
Since Jan started mentoring Leo, he became a father of two.
“Leo has seen my two children grow up from babies to toddlers. When Leo comes to our place, he’s known as Uncle Leo.”
Community-based mentoring helps young people become more confident, develop a greater sense of belonging and aspire to greatness.
“I’d say to anyone, it’s a really great opportunity to have a steady involvement in someone’s life. You are not just a role model, but you’re giving these children a vision.
“I think in 10 years’ time when they leave school and want to decide what to do with life, you potentially are that person. They will reflect on [your mentorship] and go,” said Jan.
Anne Epplett became a mentor three years ago, when she saw the benefits and positive changes happening to her grandson, who was also in the BBBS programme.
“I felt like I wanted to give something back to the organisation myself,” she said.
15 year-old Katie Carpenter and 66-year-old Anne Epplett are now the best of friends.
Anne was matched with 15-year-old Katie Carpenter, who was struggling with life changes after her parents separated.
Katie said it was easy to talk with Anne: “Having a mentor who is not part of my family is a great thing to have.”
Anne is 66, and said the age difference doesn’t get in the way of their friendship.
They hang out every week and enjoy costume shopping, handcrafts, cooking strawberry jam, watching movies and dancing.
For the mentees, joining the programme helps them navigate some big life challenges.
When Manny Faulkner was nine, his life changed when his father died.
“His dad’s death exploded his life and he lost a lot of confidence and who he was, because his dad was his best mate and they were very tight,” said Manny’s mother, Karla Hilton.
Years later, Manny Faulkner met Hugo Robertshawe, who has helped Manny deal with his grief.
“Manny gets to have that male figure in his life, which he lost when his dad passed away,” said Karla. “For Manny to have Hugo, it’s not just to be excited to go out and do stuff, but just to talk to or be with him.”
“What Hugo gives for Manny is more than I could ever ask for.”
Currently, 67 young people are matched with a mentor in Hawke’s Bay BBBS programme.
“What’s unique about this mentoring programme is that it’s one-to-one. So for every young person, they have one adult. If some families have more than one child, they will have multiple mentors,” said Boyd.
The longest match has been running for eight years, with the young mentee growing up from the age of nine to 17 with his mentor.
“It’s made a huge difference, not just for the young person, but [there’s] a ripple effect to the family as well,” said Boyd.
A training session for new mentors run by Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawke’s Bay.
To be a mentor, you need to be aged between 18 and 70, have a full and clean driver’s licence and, most importantly, be positive, reliable and consistent.
